12 May 2026 – Philippine Ambassador to Colombia Adrian Bernie C. Candolada participated as a panelist in the Extended Meeting of the Bureau of the High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation hosted by the Agencia Presidencial de Cooperacion Internacional de Colombia (APC Colombia)  in Santa Marta, Colombia on 06-08 May 2026.

Ambassador Candolada highlighted the Philippine experience in South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), particularly its own strategy and approaches in handling technical cooperation projects.

He explained the Philippine position that scaling up  SSTC would require a more reliable financing system, stronger multi-stakeholder partnerships, and a clearer recognition of the dual role of middle-income countries as both providers and recipients of development assistance.

The conference was attended by experts from diplomatic missions to the United Nations in New York, representatives of international cooperation agencies and foreign embassies based in Bogotá, as well as SSTC partners from different countries. 

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