This has been a very special week for me.
On Oct. 20, I was honored to present my credentials to President Duterte. I follow a long line of distinguished British ambassadors serving in the Philippines, but I am the first woman to hold this position. As luck would have it, the 20th of October was also UK-Philippines Friendship day. And this year is the 75th Anniversary of our bilateral relationship, and the year that the UK was honored to become a Development Partner to ASEAN. So it really does feel like an auspicious time to take on this role.
As I said to President Duterte, I see this time as a time of great opportunity for the UK and Philippines. Our relationship has never been so strong and I firmly believe it will continue to go from strength to strength. In recognition of the increased strategic breadth and depth of our relationship, we have agreed to launch a new ‘Enhanced Partnership’ this year, which will provide more political impetus and accountability in support of the five key pillars of our co-operation: political, economic, climate, defence and consular.
This year is also the year of COP26. In just two weeks the UK will host the COP26 international climate conference, where we will bring together the international community in a final chance to agree to measures that will prevent global warming reaching catastrophic levels. The UK has worked tirelessly to make this happen – including in seeking to raise $100 billion a year to support developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change and transition away from fossil fuels.
Here in Southeast Asia, the paradigm is changing and COP26 is creating momentum for the region to turn decisively to clean growth. I look forward to Secretary Dominguez leading the Philippine delegation to this event, and hope that the Philippines will be able to announce new ambitious commitments, including a long-term strategy to reach net zero emissions.
But as we know, climate change is not just about high level talks – it is about people. Climate change is triggering extreme weather events and, beyond this, it is affecting housing, health, agriculture and people’s ability to put food on the table. We hope that a mainstream public conversation will prosper in the next few months to engage citizens around these important issues. As the UK, our commitment to addressing climate change will not end at COP26; we will continue to work with the government and the people of the Philippines on this.
Beyond these critical issues, the Philippines and the UK continue to have much to gain by working together. Our countries have worked closely in the battle against COVID-19, particularly on the critical issue of vaccines. I am glad that we were able to support the tripartite agreements for 17 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and that COVAX, to which the UK is the third largest donor, has now delivered over 20 million doses to the country. And the UK donated 415,000 vaccines from our own stock.
Both our countries have suffered terrible losses as a result of the pandemic; my thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones in the Philippines. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we will continue to work with the Philippines on securing an economic and social recovery that is sustainable, fair and inclusive.
Despite the significant challenges of COVID, British companies working in the Philippines remain confident about the country’s future and I am confident that British goods and services can further contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth here – from infrastructure services as a contribution to Build Build Build, all the way to technology and innovation where the UK is a market leader in FinTech, EdTech, HealthTech, to name just a few.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, Filipino companies are making the most of investment opportunities. Jollibee, for example, is planning to open another 10 restaurants in the UK just this year and here I cannot resist highlighting that I enjoyed my first Chickenjoy at the flagship store in Earl’s Court shortly before my departure to Manila. We want to encourage more investment and more trade in both directions as we ‘build back better’ from the pandemic.
We are also doing important work together in the field of security and stability. The UK supported the peace process in the South as part of the International Contact Group, and we now have a large program supporting the structures of the new BARMM parliament and sharing our own experience of setting up devolved parliamentary systems in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
We also work closely with the military and police to build counter-terrorism capacity. And we continue to work closely with Filipino partners both on maritime security and maritime law. I’m delighted that from next year the UK will have its own permanent navy presence in this region.
Having just presented my credentials, I cannot wait to get started in the role, to meet Filipinos from all walks of life, to hear about their hopes and dreams, to travel to as many of your 7,000 islands in your beautiful country as I can, and to begin the next 75 years of friendship and partnership between the Philippines and the UK.
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Laure Beaufils is the British Ambassador to the Philippines. Twitter @LaureBeaufils