News brief
Nordic hopes for The Philippines
F
erdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. met shortly after his election to become the next President of the Phbilippines with a broad range of diplomats, including the Finnish Ambassador to the Philippines Juha Markus Pyykkö, Denmark’s Ambassador Grete Silasen, Norway’s Ambassador Bjørn Jahnsen and Swedish Ambassador Annika Thunborg. Juha Pyykkö told the media after his meeting that he had emphasized that Finland hopes the Philippines through the upcoming administration will continue to uphold the international law and rulesbased order, especially with Manila’s position in the Ukraine-Russia war. “As a [European Union]-member state, we want to work with upholding international law and international rules-based order and at this juncture, I raised the Russian aggression against Ukraine because that is [a] severe breach of international law and the international-rule based order,” Pyykkö said.
Danish Ambassador Grete Silasen focused on sustainable and renewable energy in her talk with the Marcos Jr.. “Our meeting focused to a high degree on the green transition that all countries have to go through these days and these years that are coming,” Sillasen said in a press conference. The ambassador said she shared with Marcos “how Denmark managed to double its GDP (gross domestic product) without increasing our consumption of energy, water, and without increasing our CO2 emissions.” Norwegian Ambassador Bjørn Jahnsen assured Marcos Jr. that Norway will continue suppor ting the peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). “What we discussed in detail on the peace talks was Norway’s engagement in the Bangsamoro,” Bjorn said in a press briefing.
“Norway is the vice-chair of something called independent decommissioning body charged with decommissioning former combatants… We look forward to continuing our support to bring peace to the Bangsamoro also during the next administration,” he added. According to Bjorn, around 20,000 former combatants have been decommissioned so far. This is half of their target which is 40,000. Swedish Ambassador Annika Thunborg shared Sweden’s support for more sustainable energy when she met with Marcos Jr. Annika Thunborg also discussed the peacebuilding in Mindanao, and how to fight drugs and crime within the framework of law and human rights and with a focus on rehabilitation and socio-economic development.
Swedish Ambassador Annika Thunborg congratulating Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with his election.
July-August 2022 • ScandAsia 9
