PH Promotes Digitalization and Innovation, Champions Middle-Income Country Agenda at High-Level United Nations Meeting for Asia and the Pacific 

Philippine Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UNESCAP Millicent Cruz Paredes delivering a statement on middle-income countries. (Bangkok PE photo)

BANGKOK 02 May 2024 – The Philippine delegation, led by Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John E. Uy, to the 80th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) held in Bangkok on 22-26 April 2024, successfully advocated the country’s efforts to strengthen digitalization and innovation as drivers of sustainable development with long-term benefit to the Filipino people. 

The 53 UNESCAP Member States of Asia and the Pacific meet annually at the ministerial level to review and discuss shared economic and social issues, and to strengthen regional cooperation to address these. This year, at the 80th Commission Session, Member States deliberated on the theme “Leveraging digital innovation for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.”

Guided by the special remarks of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. delivered at the high-level segment on 22 April 2024, the Philippine delegation highlighted various initiatives. DICT Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. shared the Philippines’ eGovernment platform that interlinks various Philippine agencies as well as local government to digitalize, innovate, and simplify the processes. Philippine Statistics Authority Assistant Secretary and Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia Del Prado discussed the country’s use of innovative data collection methods to generate official statistics, including those developed by ESCAP, to measure the Philippines’ work on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Indicators. 

On the Middle-Income Country Agenda, Permanent Representative to UNESCAP Ambassador Millicent Cruz Paredes underscored the Philippines’ leadership in advocating the need to address the specific challenges of middle-income countries (MICs) and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development. Ambassador Paredes addressed the plenary to convey the Philippines’ call for the institutionalization of a well-defined program of action for MICs in Asia and the Pacific, which includes 23 lower-middle-income and 17 upper-middle-income countries.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Marilou Erni, in her capacity as the Chair of the 8th Session of the UNESCAP Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction held in July 2023, also virtually briefed the Commission on the outcomes of the meeting. She also reiterated Member States’ invitation to the Philippines’ hosting of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) on 14-18 October 2024 in Manila. 

The Philippine delegation concluded its participation in the 80th Commission Session by co-sponsoring two 80th Commission resolutions, on the theme topic and on the procedures of meetings, respectively.

The 81st Session of UNESCAP will be held in Bangkok on 21-25 April 2025.

For information on the 80th Commission Session, please visit https://www.unescap.org/events/commission80. END

Left photo: DICT Undersecretary David Almirol, Jr., delivering a statement on subregional perspectives. Right photo: PSA Assistant Secretary and Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia Del Prado delivering a statement on statistics. (Bangkok PE photos)

DENR Undersecretary Marilou Erni, in her capacity as Chair, reporting via video message the outcome of the 8th Session of the UNESCAP Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction, which was held in July 2023. (Bangko PE photos)

For more information, visit https://www.bangkokpe.dfa.gov.ph, or https://www.facebook.com/PHinThailand/.