The Philippines has called on Canada to continue its support for the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) nations' disaster response and health security efforts.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro made the call during the ASEAN-Canada Senior Officials Dialogue in Ottawa.
During the meeting, Lazaro recognized Ottawa’s efforts in promoting health security in the regional bloc.
She said she is looking forward to Canada’s proposed project on Strengthening Regional Health within the ASEAN Health through Intensification of Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiatives.
Canadian Senior Official Weldon Epp reaffirmed Ottawa’s commitment to promoting disaster preparedness and health security in ASEAN which it has consistently supported through the Integrated Disaster Risk Management Fund and Weapons Threat Reduction Program (WTRP).
Both officials also discussed ways forward to further strengthen Philippines-Canada relations which have been marked by high-level engagements and regional initiatives.
That included the Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office (IPAAO) based in Manila which aims to benefit not only the Philippines but also the entire ASEAN region, among others.
Lazaro welcomed Canada’s support for the 2016 Arbitral Ruling through bilateral statements as well as through the Group of Seven (G7).
Canada will assume next year the presidency of the G7, under which mantle it vowed to undertake the responsibility of continuously supporting peace and security in the region, DFA said.