The Australian government will launch Friday, March 17, the AUD90-million Education Pathways for Peace in Mindanao (PATHWAYS) program. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will lead the official launching of the project, which will primarily benefit communities in Bangsamoro areas. The project is part of Australia’s long-standing commitment to support peace and stability in Mindanao.

But as the month of Ramadan draws to a close, the main rebel group, MILF, and their followers, said they are praying that the talks, already reportedly at an advanced stage, would result in a final agreement by 2014. That deal could give the area a homeland and a separate government, and would end a conflict that has killed 120,000 people over the past four decades. Negotiations will resume in mid-August in Malaysia after Eid al-Fitr, the celebration of the end of Ramadan.