SINGAPORE --- The Philippines and Singapore are both satisfied with the expansion of their bilateral economic cooperation despite the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, their joint statement read.
This came after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had separate meetings with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday, September 7, the last day of his State Visit here.
Based on the joint statement, posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website, the leaders noted with satisfaction the expansion in bilateral economic cooperation.
Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to US$16.5 billion in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 17.2 percent.
Singapore was the Philippines’ largest foreign investor in 2021, with investments totaling US$1.5 billion.
As of 2020, Singapore’s cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Philippines was US$6.9 billion, mainly in real estate and hospitality, telecommunications, transport and logistics, consumer goods, and utilities.
"The two sides intend to build on this solid foundation to further deepen and broaden our cooperation to bring greater benefits to our peoples," the joint statement read.
The Leaders likewise welcomed the ongoing opportunities for the Philippines and Singapore to work together in growth areas, including the digital economy, agri-trade, infrastructure development, innovation, urban solutions, sustainability, and consumer business.
To further boost trade and investment flows, both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Enterprise Singapore and the Philippine Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), to jointly develop New Clark City through technology transfer and partnerships in urban and smart city solutions.
To increase connectivity and create more opportunities for collaboration and growth, the two sides are also working to realize progress on the expansion of the bilateral Air Transport Agreement which will increase connectivity and create more opportunities for collaboration and growth.
Both sides also recognized the complementarities of their economies and looked forward to the development of even stronger linkages, both bilaterally and multilaterally, by leveraging common trade agreements.
Even better ties
In her speech during their meeting, President Halimah expressed confidence that the relationship between the Philippines and Singapore will improve under Marcos' watch.
"Singapore and the Philippines have a shared commitment to ASEAN in the region’s peace and prosperity, the future of the region will depend on how we respond to the opportunities and challenges together," she said.
"I am confident that under President Marcos Jr.’s leadership we will continue to work closely to elevate our relationship to even greater heights," she added.
In response, President Marcos emphasized the importance of working together to maintain political and economic stability in Southeast Asia.
"Singapore, as part of our journey in maintaining political stability and the economic prosperity in the region, we are one with you in proving to the world that the strength of a country is not in its size, but in the quality of the lives and the ties that it forges with the members of the community of nations, guided by the tenets sovereign equality and independence," he said.
Defense agreement
Meanwhile, based on the joint statement, the Philippines and Singapore are already in the process of concluding an agreement that would boost defense and security cooperation after having just signed an agreement on counterterrorism.
"The two sides agreed to continue with regular high-level dialogues, military-to-military exchanges, cooperation on multilateral platforms, and to work towards the conclusion of a separate bilateral agreement that would further strengthen defense and security cooperation," it read.
Both the Philippines and Singapore have affirmed their close and long-standing bilateral ties on security and defense matters through the signing of the Arrangement between the Singapore Armed Forces and Armed Forces of the Philippines Concerning the Assignment of a Team to the Counter-Terrorism Information Facility (CTIF) in Singapore.
The multilateral CTIF brings together like-minded countries to share intelligence and provides early warning, monitoring, and analysis capabilities.
People-to-people ties
Both countries have likewise reaffirmed their strong people-to-people ties that thrived even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The people-to-people ties have always been the core of the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and Singapore.
"Our peoples share close bonds of friendship and amity which have continued to flourish even during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the restoration of travel links following the easing of the global Covid-19 situation," the joint statement read.
For her part, President Halimah expressed Singapore’s appreciation for the invaluable contributions of Filipino healthcare workers and frontline personnel to Singapore’s Covid-19 response efforts.
Emerging from the pandemic
Based on their joint statement, Marcos and Halimah discussed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and recognized the importance of closer cooperation to enable both countries to emerge stronger together from the pandemic in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
"The Leaders also welcomed the support that both countries provided to each other, including on medical supplies and equipment, since the beginning of the pandemic," it read.
"The two Leaders also emphasized the importance of bolstering mutual economic resiliency and agreed that both countries should explore ways to improve supply chain connectivity and resilience," it furthered.
Marcos courted Singaporean businessmen on Wednesday and invited them to look at Asia's "fastest-rising" star which is the Philippines.