President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. met with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Tanaka Akihito during the latter’s courtesy call in Malacañang on Wednesday.
“JICA has always been an important partner for the Philippines,” Mr. Marcos said during the meeting.
“It started only with infrastructure, but now you have also expanded into other areas. We hope to continue, especially with the green projects we have now, which are going very well,” he added.
The President expressed confidence in ongoing initiatives and welcomed suggestions from JICA on how the Philippines could further enhance their partnership.
“If there is anything more that we can do from the Philippine side, we will be happy to hear any suggestions,” President Marcos stated.
Tanaka thanked the President for the opportunity to meet despite the President’s busy schedule and conveyed condolences for the victims of recent typhoons in the Philippines.
“As a country sharing a similar fate of monsoon typhoons, our recent experiences compel us to strengthen collaborative work in disaster risk reduction,” Tanaka said.
“We would greatly appreciate any observations, Mr. President, about how to tackle these natural disasters and how JICA can be part of your work,” he continued.
The President acknowledged the pressing need to address flood control and water management, noting that these issues have long affected the Philippines, particularly in highly urbanized areas.
“The issue of flood control and water management has become a significant concern. Even before my time as president, back in local government, I could already see the challenges these posed,” President Marcos said.
