A global partner.
That is the picture President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. wants to paint for the Philippines during the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and Relation Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this week.
In his departure speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 on Wednesday, November 9, the President bared his objectives as he joined his first ASEAN Summit as the country's leader.
"This is the purpose of the trip: Once again, we will promote the Philippines not only as an investment center, not only as a tourism center but as a partner, a global partner for our ASEAN member nations and for all our friends around the world who will be joining the ASEAN Conference," he said.
"I think we have a very good foundation on which to build upon, within ASEAN and without ASEAN," he added.
According to Marcos, his participation will promote and protect Philippine interests in the bloc.
"We will emphasize regional cooperation on maritime security, climate change, food security, health cooperation, and economic recovery, amongst others," he said.
President Marcos is also looking forward to establishing partnerships with different countries participating in the summits.
"I have spoken often about the importance that I put on the partnerships that we make as we go forward and start to live the future of the new global economy," he said.
"I think this is going to be a very, very good opportunity for us to forge new partnerships and to strengthen those that have already existed for a very long time," he added.
Marcos said this year's ASEAN summits are important since this is the first time that the leaders of the 10-country bloc will meet after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
"Very much has happened in the past three years that we need to discuss and which we need to decide upon how we member nations of ASEAN will jointly move forward," he said.