MANILA — The Philippines will host the High-Level Conference of Middle Income Countries in Makati on April 28-29, 2025. This will be the first time such meet will take place in Asia Pacific.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said around 200 senior officials from like-minded middle income economies will join the forum, together with representatives from the United Nation agencies, civil society groups, and global financial institutions.

Manalo said they will discuss a lot of topics including access to financing for middle income nations, green transitions, as well as growth in the digital age.

“We’re also trying to see how we can have more support and assistance which is targeted for specific needs and the context of the situation of the middle income countries,” Manalo said.

He added, “We’re also seeing to address outdated models of development and also net worth for example GDP. Are they really reflecting of the economic situation of a country or its development?”

United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Philippines Arnaud Peral said the gathering can also allow member countries to learn good practices from each other especially on hitting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are targeted by 2030.

“We are only 5 years to reach 2030 and the SDGs. It’s clear those SDGs can only be achieve with the contribution and steady progress of middle income countries,” Peral said.

Manila’s hosting comes at a time when the Philippines is set to move up from a lower middle income economy to a upper middle income country by next year.

One of the topics to be discussed at the forum on how to help graduating countries because richer upper middle income status means they would lose access to some financing or aid and tariff privileges in some cases.

“The higher you reach in development and income, sometimes you get penalized. For example in terms  of access to assistance, access to other types of development assistance. These are points we would like to raise,” said Manalo.

But Balisacan remains confident the country will and should become an upper middle income economy next year. He said government is prepared once access to new official development assistance may be removed.

He said hitting upper middle income status coupled with good fiscal management is good for the country.

“All these good housekeeping should eventually lead to improvement in our credit rating. That reduction in interest obtained and secured by government for financing of its deficit or by private sector could even be more favorable for the entire economy,” Balisacan said.

The forum is also expected to issue the Manila declaration, which was also called the Makati declaration at the press conference. No specific information was divulged what the declaration would include, but that it will elevate the voice of middle income countries in the global stage.