GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 5 February) — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is all set to hold its largest annual gathering of international development partners to tackle and accelerate peace and development initiatives in the region.
Engr. Mohajirin Ali, director general of the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA), said Thursday the 5th Bangsamoro International Development Partners Forum (BIDPF) on February 9 “is not merely a donors forum but [also] a partnership process moving from fragmented aid toward strategic synergy.”
“The BARMM has reached a defining moment. For the past seven years, our narrative has been one of promise—the promise of self-determination, peace, and a government conveying the moral and cultural aspirations of the Bangsamoro people,” he said in a statement.
To be held at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Davao City, the forum is themed “ From Promise to Prosperity: Celebrating Gains, Accelerating BARMM’s Transformation Through Strategic Partnerships.”
More than just an expression of collaboration and partnership, the summit seeks to ensure that all development efforts for the region are aligned with the midterm update of the 2nd Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP), Ali said.
The 2nd BDP is a roadmap that outlines the region’s development priorities and strategies to drive progress from 2023 to 2028, anchored on the Enhanced 12-Point Priority Agenda of the Bangsamoro government, some of which include building a stronger BARMM bureaucracy, digital and infrastructure development, food security, agricultural productivity, universal health care, quality education and disaster resilience.
The first BIDPF was conducted in 2021, two years after the BARMM was established following the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
The creation of an autonomous Bangsamoro region was the major component of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the final peace agreement signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations.
Ali noted the BIDPF serves as a major initiative and a vital venue for dialogue and collective action between the Bangsamoro government and international development partners, including the national government.
The major milestones achieved by the holding of the BIDPF so far include, among others, the establishment of the Bangsamoro International Development Assistance Committee and the production of the Bangsamoro International Development Assistance Handbook, he said.
Expected to attend the gathering are top officials or representatives from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), European Union, World Bank, agencies under the United Nations, and embassies in the country, among others. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
