EU Ambassador Massimo Santoro’s mission in Davao Region

EU Ambassador Massimo Santoro makes his first visit to the Davao region on 26 to 27 February 2025. During his outreach, he will pay his courtesy call on Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte. EU Ambassador Santoro said that the “EU reaffirms its commitment and engagement to support long-term peace and development. Mindanao is a priority region of the EU assistance to the Philippines with Southern Philippines having received more than PHP 8.5 billion in development initiatives”, he said.  

EU Ambassador is one of the key speakers in the Mindanao International Studies Society Convention. He will discuss “Mindanao and EU-Philippines Relations” before students, faculty and alumni from seven academic organisations in Mindanao. He will also engage with youth leaders from Ateneo de Davao University in a conversation dubbed “Pakighinabi between the EU Ambassador and Mindanaoan Youth”. The EU Delegation to the Philippines has launched the Youth Sounding Board as a platform for young people to advise the EU on how to improve engagement with the youth, promote participation and empowerment and connect young people with their peers.

EU Ambassador Massimo Santoro visits FARDECO Agricultural Multi-Purpose Cooperative (FARDECO) office and chocolate processing plant located at Purok 3, Barangay Cadalian, Baguio district. Baguio district consists of largely rural communities and is home to a large number of indigenous people. The European Union is funding the GIZ project “Strengthening the Implementation of Regional and Local Peace and Development Agendas in Mindanao (SPADe)” with 15 M EUR through the Mindanao Peace and Development (MinPAD-RISE) programme, with 3 M EUR co-funding by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation (BMZ).