The United States and the Philippines launched the inaugural U.S.-Philippines Energy Policy Dialogue (EPD) on August 17. The U.S. Department of State's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources Laura Lochman and the U.S. Department of Energy's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Americas Beth Urbanas co-led the U.S. delegation. The Philippines Department of Energy's Supervising Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Felix William Fuentebella led the Philippines delegation.
The EPD aims to advance commitments by the United States and the Philippines to deepen cooperation on energy security, energy access, and the clean energy transition, as agreed during Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to the Philippines in November 2022. The U.S. and Philippines delegations emphasized the centrality of energy security, decarbonization and collaboration amongst nations with shared values to sustained economic development amid the region's rapid economic growth and rising energy demands.
The discussion reinforced the role of energy cooperation in strengthening the U.S.-Philippines partnership and focused on accelerating the deployment of renewable energy, modernizing and expanding transmission, and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels. Both delegations reviewed the progress of current energy projects in the Philippines and established priorities for future cooperation and technical support. The United States and the Philippines reaffirmed the importance of nuclear energy as a key contributor to energy security, highlighted ongoing cooperation on small modular reactor capacity building, and discussed next steps to deepening cooperation and moving forward to deployment under the highest standards of nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation.
Following the inaugural EPD, U.S. Department of Energy leadership including Deputy Secretary David Turk and Deputy Assistant Secretary Beth Urbanas will visit the Philippines to continue engagement and partnership on shared energy transition priorities.
