Manila, 30 September 2025: ERIA President Tetsuya Watanabe met with H.E. Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., Secretary of the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines and Chair of the 47th Meeting of ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF), on the sidelines of the AMAF and related meetings.

President Watanabe highlighted ERIA’s recent research on decarbonisation and digitalisation in agriculture, which supports sustainable agricultural development in the Philippines and across ASEAN. The meeting focused on exploring ERIA’s potential support for the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026, as well as identifying future areas of collaboration in the food and agriculture sector to enhance regional resilience and innovation.