The UKABC is delighted to host Ms Laure Beaufils, UK Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines – Designate to a roundtable with partners. Ms Beaufils will take up her appointment this August and this will an opportunity for partners to brief Ms Beaufils on their presence and priorities in the Philippines and hear Ms Beaufils thoughts on her areas of focus.

UK-Philippine bilateral trade in goods and services was worth £1.6 billion in 2020. The economy has been battered by one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks and contracted by 9.6 percent last year. The World Bank has forecast that it will grow by 4.7 percent this year, a figure that is below previous projections. Unemployment has reached 8.7%, roughly 4.4 million Filipinos, due to the severe lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic. A study by the Asian Development Bank Institute showed that if Filipino households lose their income amid the coronavirus pandemic, only around half of them would have enough resources to cover necessary expenses for up to two weeks.

The Philippines has reported over 1.3 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 24,036 deaths. Out of the population of 110 million, more than 13 million people have been tested since January 2020. Over 8.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered, mainly to frontline healthcare workers, the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.

This event is for UKABC board members and partners. To find out more about partnership opportunities contact ken.wells@ukabc.org.uk

Programme

9.00 Welcome remarks

• Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Chair, UK-ASEAN Business Council

9.05 Partner conversation

• Ms Laure Beaufils, UK Ambassador Designate to the Republic of the Philippines

Chaired by Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Chair, UK-ASEAN Business Council

10.00 Roundtable concludes

Biography

Ms Laure Beaufils has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines and Her Majesty’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Palau in succession to Mr Daniel Pruce. Ms Beaufils will take up her appointment during August 2021.

Prior to this appointment, Ms Beaufils was the Amman, Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa (with oversight for Jordan, Iraq and Occupied Palestinian Territories), a role she began in 2019.

Laure Beaufils was the Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria from February 2017 to 2019.

Previously she was the head of the UK Department for International Development in Rwanda from August 2014 to February 2017. In this capacity, she managed a $100 million portfolio of programmes focusing on economic development, governance and social sectors.

Prior to holding this position, she worked in various positions in the UK government. She was the lead strategic adviser working for the British Prime Minister in his role as co-chair of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on the post-2015 development agenda. She ran the Department for International Development’s department for Overseas Territories. She led a team working on climate change. She worked for the UK mission to the UN as the first secretary responsible for development. Prior to joining the UK Civil Service, she worked with the UN and civil society organisations. She also worked with the private sector as a financial auditor. She has lived and worked in Rwanda, Ethiopia, India, Cambodia, France, the UK and the USA.

Further reading

A Long Road Ahead for the Philippine Economy. The Diplomat.

Philippine Economy Is A Mess As Duterte Fiddles On Covid-19. Forbes.

Philippines’ Duterte threatens vaccine decliners with jail, animal drug. Reuters

Philippines logs 6, 043 new Covid-19 cases, death toll tops 24, 000. The Star

Jobless Filipinos hit 4.14 million in April 2021 amid lockdowns. Rappler

Oldest South-east Asia bank rides wave of green finance and tech. Business Times

Benigno Aquino III, Philippine president who fought corruption and Chinese territorial claims, dies at 61. The Washington Post