PH, Germany ink defense cooperation arrangement

The Philippines and Germany signed an arrangement on defense cooperation in Berlin on Wednesday, according to the Department of National Defense (DND) on Thursday.

In a statement, the DND said Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and German Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius agreed to work on a framework to push bilateral defense partnership.

This arrangement builds on the 1974 Administrative Agreement concerning the training of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel in Germany, according to the DND.

The arrangement also expands cooperation between the two defense and military establishments in the fields of cybersecurity, defense armaments and logistics, and United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, among others.

After the signing, the DND said Teodoro and Pistorius will convene the 3rd Philippines-Germany Security and Defense Staff Talks to specify proposed joint activities under the arrangement for next year.

Teodoro was in Berlin to attend the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting to reaffirm Manila’s commitment to global peace and security as one of the founding member-countries and a troop-contributing nation of the UN, the DND said.

The Philippines has a current bid for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council as Teodoro expressed the country's readiness to play an active role in addressing global security concerns, it added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News