The Philippines and Indonesia must remain united in addressing regional issues, President Marcos told his Indonesian counterpart on Wednesday, Jan. 10.
During the bilateral meeting of Marcos with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Malacañan Palace, the former underscored that the two countries share the same aspiration for the Southeast Asian region.
"As like minded developing nations, the Philippines and Indonesia both aspire for ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) commonality that is peaceful, stable, and prosperous. As neighbors, we must remain united in addressing the many challenges that our region now faces," Marcos said in his opening statement.
The President stressed that Indonesia "continues to be one of our closest friends and regional partners."
"Our many commonalities in geography, history, and culture have fostered deeper and more comprehensive engagements at various levels spanning defense and security, maritime operations, trade and investment, tourism, people-to-people exchanges amongst many others and I might add, a strengthening government-to-government relationship," Marcos said.
He also told Widodo that his inaugural state visit in Indonesia last year served as a testament to both countries' continuing and flourishing bilateral ties.
Marcos further said that it also enables the two nations to forge new partnership in new areas of cooperation such as renewable energy, creative economy, infrastructure development, and other industrial development.
The Chief Executive also congratulated Widodo for Indonesia's successful hosting as chair of ASEAN last year, hoping to emulate their success once the Philippines assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2026.
He also commended Widodo's leadership and commitment in enhancing the two countries' long-standing ties.
"As you will soon conclude your second term as the President of the Republic of Indonesia, I commend your visionary leadership and your strong commitment to promoting and enhancing the long-standing and close ties between the Philippines and Indonesia," Marcos said.
Widodo, for his part, said he welcomed the strengthening of cooperation of border security through joint patrols but noted that "there are many things that still need to be improved."
He expressed that he was delighted about the positive progress of the implementation of the two countries' action plan, which, Widodo said, needs to be followed up with concrete steps to strengthen collaboration especially in two areas of cooperation in terms of political and security, and economy.
Widodo is in Manila for a three-day visit.