EU Ambassador Veron visits WestMinCom

European Union Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron visited the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City on Wednesday, WestMinCom said in a statement issued Thursday.

According to the WestMinCom, Veron said that the European Union has more initiatives and projects to implement within the command’s operational area, and emphasized European governments’ support for the peace process in Mindanao, particularly in the BARMM. 

Veron, who was welcomed by WestMinCom commander Lieutenant General William Gonzales was also briefed on the security updates within WestMinCom’s area of operations at the WMC Conference at Camp Navarro in Calarian.

Veron is also scheduled to attend the ceremonial switch-on of Mindanao’s first solar battery-diesel hybrid power plant, which was built to assist the power supply to island settlements in the municipalities of Sitangkai and Sibutu in Tawi-Tawi.

The project was implemented by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in partnership with the government of Tawi-Tawi, as well as the Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative (TAWELCO), the MSU Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU TCTO), the Seaweed Research and Development Center, the BARMM Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy (MENRE), the BARMM Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), and the Association of Island Electric Cooperatives-Island Light and Water Development Corporation (AIEC-ILAW). 

It is financially supported by the European Union under the Access to Sustainable Energy Programme (ASEP). — Sherylin Untalan/BM, GMA Integrated News