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MANILA — The Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently held high-level bilateral consultations on USAID’s assistance to the Philippines.

The consultations, which were led by National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Deputy Director - General Rolando G. Tungpalan and USAID/Philippines Mission Director Gloria D. Steele, reviewed achievements of the USAID in the Philippines over the past three years and discussed the international agency’s proposed Country Development Cooperation Strategy for 2012-2016.

According to Mission Director Gloria Steele, “The meeting served to reflect on the milestones that our partnership has achieved in meeting our shared development objectives. It is also a useful opportunity to discuss the future road map of our assistance in the succeeding years.”

“We are aligning this new strategy with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2011 to 2016, which fleshes out President Aquino’s Social Contract with the Filipino people,” Director Steele added.

Tungpalan thanked USAID/Philippines for aligning their proposed Country Development Cooperation Strategy with the country’s development priorities.
“Jobs, health, education, and governance remain as top concerns of Philippine development efforts, and we see them in USAID’s proposed strategy. We are grateful that the USAID advanced the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action, which calls on developing nations to exercise leadership over their development priorities for more harmonized, transparent and effective actions,” Tungpalan said.

The proposed new USAID strategy also supports President Obama’s new policy on global development which calls for a new approach on how the U.S. will implement development assistance.  In support of this vision, the Agency launched USAID Forward, an ambitious reform effort that changes the way USAID does business through new partnerships, and puts an emphasis on innovation and a relentless focus on results.

“The U.S. government will work with the Government of the Philippines in creating a more stable, prosperous and well-governed Philippines through programs that promote inclusive economic growth, increase peace and stability in Mindanao, and reduce the risk from natural disasters,” Director Steele said.

“It is good to note that Secretary Hillary Clinton, at the Busan Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, talked about how country-led development will lead to sustainable growth. We are interested in knowing more about how the USAID proposed strategy will be implemented and we will work with USAID in carrying it out,” said Tungpalan.

by: PR/PIA9 ZBST