(AseanAll)  — The Philippines launched the Philippine Pacific Initiative to “leverage Filipino experience and expertise in support of Pacific nation-building.”

The initiative will facilitate “focused cooperation” between the Philippines and Pacific island countries across four areas of resilience, namely public health, food security, labor mobility, and disaster preparedness.

These areas of cooperation were identified based on feedback from Pacific island countries in various bilateral consultations with the Philippines.

The President made the announcement in a video message for the inaugural Conference on Philippine-Pacific Partnership for a Sustainable Health Workforce and Health Security, which was held on 27-29 November 2024.

The conference, organized by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Department of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific, underscored the need for strengthened cooperation to address shared challenges, including gaps in health system financing, governance, and the capacity of healthcare workforces.

The President said the Philippine-Pacific Initiative builds on the Philippines’ long tradition of support for Pacific island countries and is anchored on the principle of sovereign equality among states.

The Philippines has taken into account Pacific interests in many of its international advocacies on issues as varied as climate action, sustainable development, disarmament and non-proliferation, and equitable global health cooperation.

“The Philippines has always stood in support of the centrality of the Pacific Islands Forum in driving the agenda of Pacific affairs. At the same time, the Philippines has spoken about putting Pacific interests at the heart of the Indo-Pacific,” Marcos said.

“In our open, inclusive, and rules-based international order, there should be  no ‘major countries’ or small states. All our voices must be equally heard,” he said.

“It is in this spirit that the Philippines has sought to contribute modestly to the development of Pacific island countries on the basis only of your own experiences and of your own needs. We are firm in our belief that you should be the only driver of your own development agenda,” the President added.