LEADING development-assistance agencies of the United States and South Korea have agreed to pursue joint-development projects in the Philippines to boost the country’s climate resilience and address ocean plastic pollution.
The partnership was a result of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on April 7 to explore potential collaboration in an array of sectors—including poverty reduction in rural areas, empowerment of women and girls, water-resource management, community rehabilitation in Marawi City, as well as climate resilience.
In particular, the US and the Republic of Korea have agreed to jointly pursue the “Climate Resilient Cities’’ project to strengthen the adaptability of Philippine cities against growing climate threats and vulnerability, as well as Marine Litter Management initiatives to mitigate the impacts of ocean plastic pollution.
Expanding the US-Korea partnership in Southeast Asia—including in the Philippines—is a key element of the Joint Statement and the Joint Fact Sheet of the Korea-US Summit in Washington, D.C. on May 21.
“For the past 75 years, [our country] has been a strong friend, partner and ally of the Philippine government in achieving its long-term vision of sustainable and inclusive growth for the Filipino people,” US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires John Law said. “Our work with like-minded partners [such as] Korea will further advance our shared development objectives, as we support the Philippines in its journey to self-reliance.”
“Korea is glad to strengthen its partnership with the US in the areas of development cooperation in the Philippines, as reflected in the MOU last month and highlighted in [the recent] Korea-US Summit,” remarked Ambassador Kim In-chul of South Korea. “We will continue to work closely together in the Philippines to promote sustainable development in the bayanihan spirit—particularly in addressing challenges faced by Philippine cities and vulnerable communities amid rising climate-change concerns, among others.”
Korea and the US are among the largest bilateral donors in the Philippines. In the past 30 years, the former has expanded its development assistance in both grants and budgetary support, and is the Philippines’s second-largest development assistance country donor.