President Marcos has departed for Saudi Arabia to participate in the first summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which, he tagged, as a "unique opportunity" for the Philippines to advance its priority agendas.

Marcos said he will meet with ASEAN and GCC leaders to discuss the challenges of major geopolitical developments and the concrete enhancement of the country's security, economic progress, and socio-cultural collaboration after more than 30 years of ASEAN-GCC relations.

"I would like to point out that this is a particularly important conference because this is the first interaction between ASEAN and the GCC, both of whom are very vibrant regions in terms of economic development for the globe, and that is why the Philippines needs to be part of that discussion," he said in his departure speech on Thursday, Oct. 19.

"It gives us, the Philippines, a unique opportunity to advance our priorities in ASEAN under the ASEAN-GCC framework, while forging closer cooperation between the two dynamic regional organizations," he added.

The President will be out of the country until Oct. 21.

He underscored that the summit will serve as an "important platform" for the Philippines to highlight the need for cooperation in energy and food security, logistics, supply chains, digital transformation, the free flow of goods, people, and services, as well as the enhancement and protection of the rights, of course, of our overseas workers.

He added that he will use his participation in the summit to emphasize the country's advocacy "for a rules-based international order to maintain peace and security, stability in our regions."

"We will see to it that our constructive engagement with ASEAN and our partners will continue to serve our national interest and the well-being of the Filipino people," he said.

While in Riyadh, he will also meet with the Filipino community there, emphasizing that GCC countries are home to an estimated 2.2 million Filipinos working in critical fields.  
 
The ASEAN and GCC nations, which comprises of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), established ties in 1990. The ASEAN-GCC Summit is the first of its kind that is geared towards advancing areas of mutual interests such as energy security, food stability and economic cooperation, among others.