The European Union will give a €9 million (US$11 million) grant  to support the peace process in Mindanao, it said in a statement today.

The EU will also continue its participation in the International Monitoring Team and continue to lead the Humanitarian, Rehabilitation, and Development component.

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front agreed this week to create a new Muslim region as part of a peace deal aimed at ending more than four decades of armed conflict.

The new EU contribution follows two previous EU grants in support of the peace process, bringing its total contribution to €13 million.