The Philippines and Canada reaffirmed their commitment to deeper cyber defense cooperation through a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Digital Defense Symposium 2025.
During the event, Odessa Rossilyz Magisa, Officer-in-Charge of the Office for Information Security at the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND), met with Hani Nasser, Director of Domains and Technology Policy at Canada’s Department of National Defense to discuss concrete areas for collaboration.
In a statement, the DND said the talks included capacity-building initiatives and information-sharing mechanisms to strengthen both nations’ cybersecurity posture.
The meeting forms part of a growing defense partnership rooted in the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation signed in January 2024.
This further reinforces the successful conclusion of negotiations on the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) in March, the DND pointed out.
Earlier this month, Manila also hosted the inaugural meeting of the Philippines–Canada Cyber Working Group, underscoring the momentum in bilateral cyber dialogue.
“The bilateral engagement is part of the broader defense partnership between the Philippines and Canada,” DND spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said.
The Digital Defense Symposium 2025 is one of the key regional forums supported by the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence (ACICE), aimed at enhancing cooperation among regional partners in digital defense and information security.
