President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will bolster the country's ties with Malaysia on the Halal Industry and Islamic banking, two industries he expects to grow by trillions of dollars in the global market, as he departed Manila for Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, July 25.
Marcos is off to the Asian neighbor for a three-day state visit upon the invitation of Sultan Abdullah, the King of Malaysia. He said his trip there will also build on the success of the March 2023 visit to Manila of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who by that time also pushed for an enhanced partnership on the areas of defense, digital economy and sports.
"I believe that this is an opportune time to harness the potentials of a revitalized relationship between the Philippines and Malaysia," the President said in his pre-departure speech delivered at the Villamor Air Base on Tuesday noon.
(Noel Pabalate/MANILA BULLETIN)
Considering the close economic ties, supported by the strong bilateral trust two countries have built for decades, Marcos said he will take the opportunity to pursue his administration's trajectory of economic growth.
He will also take the opportunity to discuss mutually beneficial programs that would ensure attainment of the country's economic target of 6.4 percent year-on-year gross domestic product growth (GDP) for 2023.
"My visit will focus on the renewed partnership in the fields of agriculture, food security, digital economy, tourism, people-to-people exchanges as well as explore new avenues for cooperation particularly in areas of the halal industry and Islamic banking," he said.
The Halal Industry is expected t"o grow to a trillion dollar industry in the international market as its global demand continues to expand," Marcos said in pushing for strengthened partnership on the said area.
"Malaysia is one of the global leaders in this sector and this visit aims to forge synergies with Malaysia for the Philippines to enjoy a share of this market," he said.
During his visit, the President will meet with Malaysian business leaders to showcase the country's trade and investment opportunities.
"I hope that through the investment forum, round table discussions and business meetings organized by (DTI) Department of Trade and Industry, we will build new bridges between our economies and create in-roads to new ventures that will see our bilateral trade volumes and investments increase," he said.
He will also have a royal audience with His Majesty, the King of Malaysia, to discuss "how we can further deepen our partnerships through new areas of mutual interest."
Malaysia is Marcos' 14th official foreign trip since assuming the presidency.