(AseanAll) — The Philippines, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), hosted the High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries (MICs Conference) from 28 to 29 April 2025 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
Under the theme “Breaking New Grounds: Towards a Strategic Plan of Action for Middle-Income Countries”, the two-day conference features engaging and dynamic discussions on key challenges and opportunities facing MICs today, including financing for development, green transitions, south-south cooperation, new generation partnerships with the UN development system, and the transformative role of digital innovation and technology in driving sustainable growth.
The conference also explored the importance of empowerment, inclusion, and partnerships in the development agenda.
Over 100 countries are classified by the World Bank as middle-income, accounting for roughly 75% of the global population, 60% of the world’s poor, and 35% of global GDP.
This gathering marks the eighth edition of the MICs Conference, which started in Madrid, Spain in 2007, and has since been hosted by other middle-income countries in Africa, Central America, and Eastern Europe.
As host of the Conference, the Philippines seeks to bring fresh perspectives to the discussion on MICs by engaging the private sector, delving deeper on climate action and digital transformation and innovation as economic drivers.
The conference also highlights the role of MICs as key players in the global development system, advocating for reforms in the international financial architecture and global governance institutions that better support the needs of MICs and prevent them from falling into the middle-income trap.
In his keynote speech during the Opening Session of the MICs Conference, PH DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo said, “With stewardship of over half of the world’s poor, middle income countries must surge through internal and external challenges to attain our national development goals within an acceptable time frame. As such, we are critical contributors to the so-called last-mile run for meeting the SDG targets in 2030.”
He further added, “We are re-molding traditional development partnerships as more MICs, including the Philippines, increase resources for South-South and technical cooperation. This is a trend that if scaled up could potentially result in game-changing dividends for the global development system.”
The Philippines officially takes over the Chairship of the Like-Minded Group on MICs from the previous chair Morocco. The Like-Minded Group composed of nineteen member states – Armenia, Belarus, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Uruguay – that aim to promote the interests of MICs in the United Nations.
The High-Level Conference is being hosted by the Philippines in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Manila.
The MICs Conference continues until 29 April 2025, with a High-Level Segment, where delegates will adopt the Makati Declaration on Middle Income Countries, which outlines concrete elements of a Strategic Plan of Action for MICs.
The DFA recognizes the support of Senator Loren Legarda in making the hosting of this High-Level conference possible.
