Manalo, Galvez to meet with US counterparts in Washington, DC
Two Philippine government department heads will travel to the US to meet their counterparts for a round of high-level meetings that aim to discuss global prosperity issues aligned with the country's economic interests.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo and Department of National Defense (DND) Officer-in-Charge Carlito Galvez will be in Washington from April 10 to 12 to lead the Philippine delegation for the 3rd Philippines-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who have both traveled to Manila after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. took office, will lead the US side.
According to DFA, Manalo will talk about energy security, strategic trade and investment cooperation, critical and emerging technologies and infrastructure, and supply chains during his meetings with American officials as both sides commit to advance common priorities as allies.
The meetings will also give "important opportunity to substantively progress cooperation in key areas," such as identifying concrete initiatives for promoting regional security; achieving mutual economic prosperity; modernizing the alliance; and countering terrorism and other transnational crimes, DFA added.
This year's 2+2 meeting is significant, according to DFA, as it resumes after a seven-year hiatus since 2016. Established in 2021, it aims to build on the work of the annual Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD).
While in Washington, DFA also said that Manalo will be a keynote speaker at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) ASEAN Leadership Forum.
He will share his insights about the new era of Philippine alliances in pursuit of its own sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as its efforts to advance a more peaceful and prosperous region.