LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte (PIA) – British Embassy Manila’s Political Counsellor Andrew Bowes sees potential partnership in renewable energy development and scholarship opportunities in Ilocos Norte.
After meeting with some local officials in the province on Nov. 21, Bowes said Ilocos Norte and the United Kingdom (UK) have common interests, particularly in climate change and disaster response to calamities.
“During my talk with local officials, the main issue that kept coming up again and again is about the importance of tackling climate change, and that’s not just the immediate aftermath of typhoons and natural calamities but also about how we accelerate the energy transition so that we’re moving to renewable systems of energy and more sustainable approaches to growth,” he said.
Bowes added that he will be collaborating more with local officials to look for more areas to collaborate on developing renewable energy sources in the province.
“We have a lot of expertise, particularly in offshore wind. I think Ilocos Norte is a priority as well. We have the largest offshore wind farm in the world in the UK, so I’d be really excited if we can find ways to build on those shared interests and find projects that we can work on in the future,” he added.
The political counsellor also mentioned that the Embassy can also offer scholarship opportunities for Ilokanos through their Chevening Scholarship Program, a fully-funded education opportunity for outstanding leaders to pursue a one-year master’s degree program in the UK.
“I would also just mention, as well, that one of the areas I have been talking to your regional leaders about is the scholarships that we have to offer. We have a very prestigious scholarship program called the Chevening Scholarship Program, which is a program for master’s degree courses in the UK, and we welcome applications from mid-career professionals that have leadership potentials and want to lead in their area of work, a field in which they need a little bit of extra expertise that we may be able to get from one of the world-leading educational institutions in the UK,” Bowes said.
Although applications for the 2025-2026 batch are closed, Bowes still encouraged Ilokanos to try and apply for the 2026-2027 batch of Chevening scholars, to which applications will open in 2025.
Interested applicants can apply through the organization’s online process at https://www.chevening.org/scholarship/philippines/.
Moreover, Bowes expressed his gratitude to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) working in the UK, especially those working in healthcare.
“Thank you for all you do to keep our health service functioning as well as you do. Thank you for your professionalism. Thank you for your service. We only hope that this is the basis of even stronger relationships between the UK and the Philippines in the future,” he expressed. (AMB/EJFG, PIA Ilocos Norte)
