President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday expressed his intent to elevate the Philippines’ level of cooperation with Brunei and Canada.
In a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Marcos and Brunei Darussalam Sultan Haji Hassanal agreed to further bolster the relations between the two Southeast Asian nations.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and His Majesty Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, had a bilateral meeting today, during which the two heads of state agreed to deepen the friendship between their respective countries,” the Office of the President (OP) said in a Facebook post.
The Philippines and Myanmar are among the 10 member-states of the ASEAN. Others member states include Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Marcos’ attendance to the 40th and 41st editions of the ASEAN summits is his first as the country’s chief executive.
Marcos, during his meeting with Bolkiah, expressed his intent to forge closer cooperation with Brunei to fight climate change, the OP said.
Bolkiah, on the other hand, extended his condolences to the Philippines after more than 100 people died due to the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng.
“PBBM (Marcos) hoped that as neighbors and allies, their two nations would work together to mitigate the effects of climate change for the sake of their people,” the OP said.
Meanwhile, Marcos also sought to deepen the Philippines’ relations with Canada by expanding the two nations’ cooperation on various areas.
Marcos, during the ASEAN-Canada Commemorative Summit, expressed hope that Canada will be the Philippines’ partner for economic development, preservation of ecosystems, and promotion of women and migrant workers’ rights.
This, as he acknowledged that Canada is home to over 900,000 Filipinos.
“The President wishes to accelerate economic cooperation, expand people-to-people ties, undertake cooperation in preserving ASEAN’s varied ecosystems, and promote the rights of women and migrant workers as Canada is home to more than 900,000 Filipinos,” the OP said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
