Kishida is visiting the country ahead of the President’s state visit to Japan on May 26 to 29 upon the invitation of the Japanese government to reaffirm and further strengthen the Philippines-Japan Strategic Partnership.
Japan’s former prime minister Kishida Fumio expressed optimism that the Philippines will be among the first countries to receive funds from Japan’s new initiative of $10 billion to support Southeast Asian economies wanting to strengthen their energy supply chain.
The initiative will see Japan helping Southeast Asian nations better procure crude and petroleum products.
Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae announced the new framework, called the Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia), during an online meeting with leaders from Asian countries and partners of the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC).
Kishida, special envoy of the prime minister and supreme adviser to the Parliamentary Association of AZEC, handed over a personal letter from Takaichi to President Marcos.
He said the letter formally stated Takaichi’s “desire” for closer Philippines-Japan cooperation on energy resiliency under POWERR Asia.
“I am also expecting that the Philippines is going to be one of the first countries to receive the assistance or the support from POWERR Asia,” Kishida told reporters at a press conference Thursday, April 30, after meeting Marcos in Malacañang, citing the “strong partnership” between the Philippines and Japan.
In preparation for co-hosting the fourth AZEC leaders’ meeting in November, Kishida said they also discussed how AZEC can strengthen and evolve its perspective on energy resilience.
“The current situation created a stance where there is a further need to stabilize the energy supply for each country. That is our current focus and the need for AZEC to evolve is there as well,” he said.
AZEC was launched by 11 partner-countries in 2023. The platform was initiated by Japan to promote decarbonization, share climate policies and establish clean energy supply chains in Asia.
The AZEC member countries are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Kishida is visiting the country ahead of the President’s state visit to Japan on May 26 to 29 upon the invitation of the Japanese government to reaffirm and further strengthen the Philippines-Japan Strategic Partnership.
Marcos’ visit will focus on discussions on current international developments, energy and food security and maritime security.