President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will be leaving for Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday, Nov. 16, to join other world leaders in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit until Nov. 19.
It will be the first time Marcos will attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) as President of the Philippines.
It will also be the first in-person meeting of the leaders of the APEC economies since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.
The President will join world leaders in various dialogues and will hold bilateral talks with other heads of state on the sidelines of the AELM.
He is expected to focus on food security, energy security and climate change mitigation.
Marcos, who attended the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits last week, considers both ASEAN and APEC as vital platforms in advancing the country's interests and positions before world leaders.
"Iyon ang mga plano namin dahil sa sitwasyon ngayon sa mundo ngayon, hindi natin kaya, kahit sinong bansa — kahit Amerika eh, kahit Russia, kahit China, yung mga malalaki — kahit sila, hindi nila kayang labanan at gawan ng paraan itong mga problemang hinaharap natin na nag-iisa (Those are our plans because amid the world's situation now, we cannot, even other countries—even America, Russia, China, the big ones—do it fight the problems alone),” Marcos said in a speech before the Filipino community in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sunday.
The APEC serves as the premier Asia-Pacific economic forum established in 1989 with the primary goal of supporting sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
APEC's 21 member-economies are home to more than 2.9 billion people and make up over 60 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).
APEC membership includes Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Chinese-Taipei, Thailand and the United States of America.