President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. left the country on Sunday morning, Sept. 4, to begin his first state visits in Indonesia and Singapore.
"Today I embark upon what I anticipate to be the first of a series of trips that I will be undertaking to our friends, our partners, our allies around the world," Marcos said in his pre-departure speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
He said his trips are aimed at putting the Philippines "in a position where we have strong alliances and strong partnerships which are necessary for us to come out of the post-pandemic economy."
"So I leave to undertake my first State Visits to our immediate neighbors, Indonesia and Singapore. In other words, ako ay mangangapitbahay para sa ating bansa at para sa ating ekonomiya (I will visit our neighbors for our country and its economy)," he added.
"My State Visits to our ASEAN neighbors will seek to harness the potentials of our vibrant trade and investment relations. As such, an economic briefing, business forums and meetings have been organized to proactively create and attract more investments and buyers for our exports, in order to accelerate the post-pandemic growth of our economy," Marcos further said.
The President will first visit Jakarta until Sept. 6 and Singapore until Sept. 7.
He said he will have a "full set of meetings" to accomplish during his state visits, which are in line with the administration's priority areas in agricultural sector, the guarantee of food supply, the guarantee of prices — food prices that are affordable to ordinary Filipinos, long-term plans for energy, long-term plans for the emergence into the new global economy.
"I expect that we will be coming back with a harvest of business deals to be signed in my State Visits that will further strengthen our economic ties with both Indonesia and Singapore," he said.
In Indonesia, Marcos will meet with President Joko Widodo for the first time to discuss the current and future state of their bilateral relationship.
The two leaders are also expected to sign several agreements covering key areas such as defense and security, creative economy, and culture.
Both countries' foreign ministers will also sign the Philippines-Indonesia Plan of Action for the next five years, which commits the two countries to projects and activities covering the full range of their bilateral ties.
"Indonesia has been our ally and one of our closest bilateral partners for the past seven decades. And beyond that, the cultural ties and the geographical affinities that we enjoy have always been part of our relationship with Indonesia," Marcos said.
"We will reaffirm our ties with fellow archipelagic nation and ASEAN co-founder, Indonesia, with whom we share an extensive maritime border in the south of the Philippines," he added.
In Singapore, the Chief Executive will also meet President Halimah Yacob Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to renew the country's commitment to deepen bilateral relations, explore options for advancing our economic ties, as well as discuss regional and global issues.
Several agreements between the two countries are also expected to be accomplished in the President's trip in the foreign country, which is home to 200,000 Filipinos.
"Singapore has become the Philippines' top trading partner in ASEAN and the top source of approved investments in 2021. Our economic cooperation with Singapore has grown by leaps and bounds for the past half-century, and more opportunities are just waiting to be tapped by both sides," Marcos said.
Marcos’ delegation includes Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla.
READ MORE: Marcos to arrive in Indonesia on Sunday; highlights of visit bared