Manila - The Philippines and Japan on Monday signed nine grant contracts worth 660,000 dollars for various education, health and agriculture projects in conflict areas in the southern region of Mindanao.

Philippine presidential peace adviser Avelino Razon and Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura signed the contracts for the projects under the Japan-Bangsamoro
(Muslim nation) Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development.

Razon said the projects are the construction of five school buildings, a potable water supply system, an education center and an irrigation system as well as the upgrade of a rural health unit in Mindanao.

He thanked Japan for its support to the peace process in Mindanao, which has been wracked by a violent Muslim insurgency for more than three decades.

Razon also urged the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to resume peace talks which have been stalled since August, when the rebels launched a series of deadly attacks in Mindanao.

The attacks and subsequent fighting between MILF rebels and government forces killed nearly 300 people and displaced more than 500,000.

The hostilities erupted when the Supreme Court stopped the signing of a key territorial agreement between the MILF and the Philippine government that would have expanded an existing Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

The Philippine government eventually scrapped the agreement, which critics alleged was unconstitutional.

Razon said he hoped the MILF would be encouraged by Japan's support to return to the negotiating table.

"We will never give up on peace," he said. "I know there will be obstacles along the way, but I am confident that we can resolve our differences."

The MILF, which has been fighting for the establishment of a separate Islamic state in Mindanao, has expressed hesitation to return to the negotiating table after years of work was scuttled by the scrapping of the territorial agreement. (dpa)