The government of Norway has committed to support the peace process in the Bangsamoro region in the Philippines under President-elect Bongbong Marcos's term.
This was among the key takeaways from Ambassador of Norway, Bjorn Jahnsen, who faced local media Wednesday, June 15 after carrying out a courtesy call to Marcos at the BBM headquarters in Mandaluyong City.
"We look forward to continuing our support to bring peace to the Bangsamoro also during the next administration," Jahnsen said.
Jahnsen was the first of five envoys who were scheduled to meet with the incoming Philippine leader Wednesday.
"What we discussed in most detail on the peace talks was Norway’s engagement in the Bangsamoro. Norway is the vice chair of something called independent decommissioning body charged with decommissioning former combatants," he said.
"We have achieved 20,000 former combatants being decommissioned so far out of 40,000, so we are halfway there," he noted.
The Bangsamoro region, officially termed the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), was formed during the current Duterte administration. It replaced the ARMM.