AICS Hanoi (responsible for the Philippines).
AICS Hanoi Office is one of the nineteen foreign offices of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, which was established by the law on cooperation reform (Law No. 125/2014).
The Agency’s aim is to carry out technical-operational activities related to the phases of preliminary investigation, formulation, financing, management and control of international cooperation initiatives.
AICS Hanoi Office has been operational since April 2022 and by mandate of the Joint Committee resolution (114/21), it has jurisdiction “over all countries in the Far East area not already assigned to the competence of other Offices, as well as regional programs insisting on at least one of these countries.”
Throughout the area AICS Hanoi is therefore in charge of pursuing the 5Ps (People, Planet, Peace, Prosperity, Partnership) of the Agenda for Sustainable Development through the implementation of initiatives in accordance with the Italian system of cooperation.
In May 2024, the Project Office in Jakarta was opened to strengthen the Italy-ASEAN Partnership in development cooperation.
Philippines. Development Cooperation.
As for other Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines is not among the “priority” countries for Italian cooperation and, consequently, does not benefit from new funds for development cooperation initiatives. Since 2020, Italy has acquired the status of Development Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Countries, ASEAN, further strengthening its cooperation within the Region. In this regard, Italy collaborates with the Philippines by promoting regional initiatives in the sectors of food security, economic development and environmental protection. The Philippines is involved in the project components related to strengthening sector policies, strategies and tools, as well as training and capacity building activities.
Debt Conversion.
In the context of the Guidelines and Indications for Programming 2011-2013 of the Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) of MAECI, the Philippines was identified as the recipient of a debt-swap program promoted by the Italian government. On May 29, 2012, a Debt-Swap Agreement was signed between the two governments, for a total amount of € 2,916,919.45, intended to finance development projects aimed at environmental protection and poverty reduction in the country’s most disadvantaged areas.
The agreement, initially planned for a three-year term, was subsequently extended on several occasions starting in 2018. In October 2024, a further extension was approved, bringing the expiration of the agreement to Dec. 31, 2025. Currently, project activities to be implemented under this extension are being determined.
Technical assistance to the agrarian reform program for community development.
The program “Technical Assistance to the Agrarian Reform Program for Community Development” was approved on October 14, 2008, by the DGCS Steering Committee for a soft loan of €26,190,016.00. This was followed in March 2011 by the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries that sanctioned the start of project activities.
The initiative aimed to improve the living conditions of around 53,000 families in 35 communities engaged in the agrarian reform in the provinces of Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat in Region XII, and Manguidanao and Lanao del Sur in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (now Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, BARMM) through the financing of infrastructure projects, vocational training, and support for agricultural entrepreneurship.
The program that ended on October 31, 2021, implemented the following project components:
- the rehabilitation and new construction of farm-to-market roads totaling 108.626 km;
- the construction of 2 bridges in Sarangani province;
- the rehabilitation and construction of irrigation systems;
- the construction of 8 warehouses for storage and 30 solar dryers;
- the construction of 8 multipurpose buildings and 3 day care centers with a social purpose.