During his outreach, he will pay his courtesy call on Chair of Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Leo Tereso Abellera Magno and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte. He will also visit Mindanao Peace and Development Rise project, one of the EU’s major programmes in the region. He will engage with local stakeholder and civil society.

He is one of the key speakers in the Mindanao International Studies Society Convention. He will discuss “Mindanao and EU-Philippines Relations” before students, faculty and alumni from seven academic organisations in Mindanao.    

He will also engage with youth leaders from Ateneo de Davao University in a conversation dubbed “Pakighinabi between the EU Ambassador and Mindanaoan Youth”.

The EU Delegation to the Philippines has launched the Youth Sounding Board as a platform for young people to advise the EU on how to improve engagement with the youth, promote participation and empowerment and connect young people with their peers.

BACKGROUND:

The European Union has played a significant role in the peace process in Southern Philippines. It has eventually become one of the biggest, most reliable and credible among development partners in support to peace process through a comprehensive approach targeting directly the political settlement and socio-economic recovery of conflict-affected and other vulnerable areas in the region.

The EU continues to reaffirm this engagement in the region through its programmes and actions in the field, which have gone stronger, bigger and impactful. EU programmes cover a wide range of topics which include, aside from socio-economic development, good governance, human rights, civil society empowerment, gender, women, peace and security and prevention of violent extremism.

In the last five years, the region received more than PHP 8.5 Billion, not including the recently-adopted EU Action on Partnerships for Peace and Development in Mindanao worth Php 1.65 billion. This new action builds upon EU flagship programmes and integrates lessons learnt and promote a humanitarian, peace, development and climate nexus approach.

Its four flagship programmes are in Mindanao including Mindanao Peace and Development Programme or MINPAD-Rise; Peace and Development BARMM;  Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise Programme or BAEP and Support to Bangsamoro Transition Programme or SUBATRA.  

The Mindanao Peace and Development Programme MINPAD Rise (2021-2026) supports socio-economic development in Mindanao by strengthening the agricultural sector and developing rural infrastructure. The grant contributes to policy dialogue and reform in the areas of agricultural expenditure reform, supporting the digitalisation strategy of the Department of Agriculture by integrating EU Copernicus earth observation data in the DA, and developing marketing and matchmaking strategies and tools to increase interaction between cooperatives, government services and agri- tech/finance providers. The EU grant contribution covers technical assistance and capacity development for local authorities. 

Peace and Development in the BARMM aims to contribute to the implementation of the normalisation track of the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro (CAB) including socio-economic improvement in the camps.   

The Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise Programme or BAEP is part of the EU’s long-term support to inclusive socio-economic development in the BARMM with focus in the island provinces. The programme supports small to medium sized producers and businesses in the agri-fishery value chains in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi as well as the halal sector and the promotion of private sector investment throughout the BARMM.

The Support to Bangsamoro Transition Programme or SUBATRA assists the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and lays the foundation for lasting peace and development by strengthening its institutions’ democratic governance capacities during the transition period. It is co-funded by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development.