Japan inks 3 agreements at economic meeting

Japan signed three agreements following the high-level meeting of the Philippine-Japan joint committee on infrastructure and economic development at Shangrila Mactan resort hotel in Cebu City. The agreements are: 1. Record of discussion among the Department of Finance, National Economic and Development Authority and Japan.

2. The memorandum of cooperation for the New Clark City (BCDA, JOIN, SURBANA JORONG)

3. The memorandum of cooperation for technical assistance for the National Broadband Plan (DICT, MIC).

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the meeting also discussed updates on the implementation of the Duterte administration’s flagship infrastructure projects.

The countries are committed to facilitate all government processes to ensure that the infrastructure programs are carried out smoothly, Domiguez said.

Also at the meeting were Secretaries Mark Villar of the Public Works and Highways, Benjamin Diokno of Budget and Managment, Arthur Tugade of Transportation, and Hermogenes Esperon Jr. of the National Security Council.

The Japanese side was headed by Dr. Hirato Izumi, the special adviser to Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The joint committee also took up possible bottlenecks and challenges for all bilateral agreements and projects on infrastructure and economic development, Dominguez said.

The next joint committee meeting will be on June 30 in Japan.