COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) joined on Thursday, October 08, 2020 the first virtual meeting for the establishment of a technical working group (TWG) on ‘Knowledge Sharing and Training Capacity’ for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) facilitated by the World Bank via WebEx video teleconference.
The meeting aims to strengthen knowledge sharing in the BARMM through networking and exchange of lessons; envision benefits and success factors for the group to operate effectively and share expectations for participation and value from this TWG for government, knowledge institutions, and development partners; share and present collaboration/ business opportunities; and agree on next steps and who should be involved.
Lewis Hawke, World Bank Task Team Leader, said the TWG on ‘Knowledge Sharing and Training Capacity’ will bring together development partners and selected organizations that are operating in the BARMM in the field of knowledge and training and have indicated they see value in coming together on a more regular basis.
“One of the priority areas for the TWG is knowledge sharing and training in the domain of Public Financial Management in the Bangsamoro region and we expect this topic to be a core area of exchange and learning,” Hawke stressed.
Some of the agencies participated during the virtual meeting were the BPDA, Bangsamoro Treasury Office (BTO), Development Academy of the Bangsamoro (DAB), Ministry of Public Works (MPW), Support to Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ateneo School of Government and other offices in the public and private sectors.
Abdulrahim Mama, Abdul Rahman Kara, Mary Lovella Lastimosa, Sheelinie Abutazil, and Nadia Ranggal were representatives of the BPDA. Meanwhile, the scope, agenda, and ideal way of work will be further developed and agreed upon by the TWG members at their next meetings. (Lovella Lao-Lastimosa, IKMD, BPDA-BARMM)