Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo made another round of bilateral talks with his foreign counterparts on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to strengthen, among others, the country's economic ties with other countries.
After meeting with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Norway on Sep. 19, Manalo met with his counterparts from Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sep. 22.
The foreign affairs chief discussed with Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato' Sri Saifuddin Bin Abdullah Malaysia's interest to collaborate with the Philippines in terms of digital economy, which is among the priorities of the Marcos administration.
In fact, Malaysia ranked as the Philippines' 10th major trading partner and 15th top investment partner in 2021, according to DFA.
Both officials also talked about the two countries' relations and their roles in promoting regional security in the ASEAN region.
With Malaysia being geographically close to Mindanao, Manalo acknowledged its efforts to contribute to the peace process in the region and expressed hope for continued engagement in bilateral relations.
"The two Ministers exchanged views on developments in ASEAN and expressed hope for a productive meeting during the forthcoming ASEAN Summits in Cambodia in November," DFA added.
Meanwhile, Manalo also had a meeting with UAE's Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They talked about the new and existing areas of cooperation between the Philippines and UAE, including labor relations, trade and investment, tourism and agriculture.
The foreign affairs chief expressed the government's appreciation to UAE's efforts to improve the living and working conditions of Filipinos there, which is among the top countries with Filipino migrant workers.