UK and PH hold inaugural meeting on Science and Technology
The meeting was hosted by the British Embassy Manila, with high-level officials and representatives from both countries participating.
The 1st Philippines-United Kingdom Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on Science and Technology was successfully held on February 22, 2024, at The Manila Peninsula Makati City.
The JCM marked the first bilateral meeting between the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the United Kingdom, led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in July 2019.
DOST Undersecretary for R&D Leah J. Buendia led the delegation from the Philippines, with Ambassador Laure Beaufils co-chairing the meeting for the United Kingdom. The meeting reaffirmed the areas of collaboration between the two countries, including health, agriculture/food security, climate change, and environment. Future areas of enhanced cooperation were also discussed, with a focus on expanding the partnership in line with evolving priorities on both sides.
The importance of bringing research results to the market was highlighted as a key focus. Both countries agreed to continue supporting ongoing projects and research calls for proposals, as well as to co-design future collaborative activities, further solidifying the joint commitment to fostering innovation and scientific advancement. It was also agreed that the JCM would be held every two years to facilitate continuous and meaningful cooperation.
The JCM was followed by a Science & Technology Reception Dinner hosted by the Ambassador, which also celebrated the 10th Year Anniversary of the Leaders in Innovation Fellowship (LIF) Programme. The programme has been supported by the UK and DOST since 2014 as a mechanism to support researchers commercialize their innovations. The in-country training event for the eight (8) fellows for LIF Global 2024 took place last February 18-22, 2024 at Crimson Hotel Filinvest Alabang, hosted by the DOST. Undersecretary Buendia said:
We hope that we can further streamline all the activities discussed earlier because there is a two-year window. We are really committed to pursuing a partnership with the UK. In fact, the UK has been one of our prominent partners for the last decade, and we’re very happy with the output and the outcome of this partnership.
Ambassador Laure Beaufils expressed the UK’s commitment to continued science and tech partnership with the Philippines:
The UK is a proud and committed science and technology partner here in the Philippines. Our scientific collaborations over the past decade have already delivered results in terms of people’s well-being, improved environmental management, food security, and wealth creation. We are committed to doing even more together: ensuring that research and new technologies have real life impacts on people’s health, on climate resilience and on food security in particular.
The JCM was attended by Susie Kitchens, Deputy Director of the Global Research and Innovation, International Research and Innovation Directorate of DSIT, as well as other representatives from the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the British Embassy Manila, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the British Council, UKRI Medical Research Council, Department of Health and Social Care and the Met Office.
For the Philippines, the committee meeting included Assistant Secretary Napoleon K. Juanillo, Jr., Assistant Secretary Rodolfo Calzado Jr., and representatives from DOST PCIEERD, DOST-PCAARRD, DOST-PCHRD, DOST-PAGASA, DOST-SEI, DOST-PHIVOLCS, DOST-TAPI, DOST-ASTI, DOST-ITCU, DFA, and the Philippine Embassy in London. The successful conclusion of the 1st Philippines-United Kingdom Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology sets the stage for continued collaboration and advancements in the fields of innovation, research, and development between the two nations. Both the Philippines and the United Kingdom reaffirmed their shared commitment to achieving mutual goals and leveraging their longstanding partnership for the benefit of both countries and the global scientific community.
Since 2014, the UK and the Philippines have been co-funding joint research projects, PhD scholarships, and capacity building activities. Snapshots on such projects are found here.