The ninth Taiwan-Philippines Pre-Joint Science and Technology Commission Meeting took place Nov. 8 in Taipei City to review the results of bilateral cooperation on a wide range of projects.
According to the National Science and Technology Council, the meeting was convened by NSTC Deputy Minister Chen Bing-yu and Leah J. Buendia, undersecretary for research and development of the Philippine Department of Science and Technology. Taiwan’s representative to the Philippines, Wallace Minn-gan Chow, was also present at the event, as was his counterpart, Cheloy E. Velicaria-Garafil.
During his opening remarks, Chen praised the expanding ties between Taiwan and the Philippines in recent years. As the two sides are island countries with similar geographic characteristics, the increasingly close partnership helps both parties minimize losses resulting from natural disasters, he added.
In response, Buendia said the two partners have achieved great progress through diverse cooperative approaches and that, based on this solid foundation, she expected the two-way collaboration to continue to grow.
According to the NSTC, the meeting focused on responding to volcanoes, ocean disasters, typhoons and earthquakes, as well as the Health, Agriculture and Training Initiative; Joint Research Programs; and the Sandwich Scholarship Program.
Participants reviewed the progress of nine projects on the aforementioned topics and invited scholars to present related implementation results. Five new JRP projects for implementation in 2025 were approved, and involved parties agreed to extend the SSP to recruit more Filipino youths to undertake research in Taiwan.
The NSTC said Taiwan and the Philippines have been alternating hosting duties for the Pre-Joint and Joint S&T Commission Meetings since 2007. Next year’s event in Taiwan will be the ministerial-level Joint S&T Commission Meeting. (SFC-E)
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