The Philippines and the United States (US) will hold their Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting in April, Philippine envoy to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said Monday.

During the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) Prospects Forum, Romualdez said they are still setting an exact date for the talks.

Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Department of Defense Officer-in-Charge and Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr., as well as their US counterparts Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, have confirmed their attendance, Romualdez said.

“In those meetings, we expect to have a very strong indication of how we will proceed with all these agreements and all of these things that have happened over the past couple of months,” Romualdez said.

“The meetings that Secretary Manalo will have with Blinken of course will touch on a lot of issues surrounding our relationship but also the global arena and how we will be able to proceed in the matter of warm economic cooperation,” he added.

Romualdez said he also expects the officials to tackle education and clean energy in their meeting.

“Clean energy of course is one aspect of our relationship we would like to develop. United States is very much advanced in green energy or alternative energy. We are also very hopeful that some of that technology will be available in the Philippines. And the United States has indicated that they are prepared to share that with us,” he said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS