Philippine President leaves for Indonesia and Singapore on his first official trip

MADRID, 4 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Philippines, Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr, has left the country this Sunday for Indonesia and Singapore, in what will be his first official trips since taking office.

The Philippine president has flown to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta together with the Foreign Minister, Enrique Manalo; Finance Minister Benjamin Diokno; the Minister of Commerce, Alfredo Pascual; and other members of his cabinet, as reported by the ABS-CBN News television network.

Marcos has affirmed, before taking his flight, that his state visits to "immediate neighbors" are intended to "reaffirm ties with other archipelagic nations."

"This is once again to put the Philippines in a position where we have strong alliances and strong partnerships that are necessary for us to come out of the post-pandemic economy," he said.

In this sense, he has indicated that his visits to ASEAN neighbors seek to take advantage of the potential "of our vibrant trade and investment relations. As such, an economic briefing, trade forums and meetings have been organized to create and attract proactively more investments and buyers".

The Philippine president will be in Indonesia between this Sunday and Tuesday, while on Tuesday and Wednesday he will be in Singapore.

When he returns to the Philippines, Marcos hopes to bring "a crop of trade deals" to "strengthen economic ties."