Marcos off to APEC summit
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is set to depart for Bangkok, Thailand today to join other world leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
This will be the first time Marcos will attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting from 16 to 19 November.
“It will also be the first in-person meeting of the leaders of the APEC economies since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020,” the Office of Press Secretary said. “In the summit, the President will join world leaders in various dialogues and will hold bilateral talks with other heads of state on the sidelines of the AELM.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs
earlier said the President will focus on food security, energy security, and climate change mitigation in his meeting with fellow leaders.
Marcos, who attended the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summits last week, considers both ASEAN and APEC as vital platforms for advancing the country’s interests and positions before world leaders.
“That’s our plan because, in today’s situation, we cannot — even if you are the United States, Russia, or China — we cannot fight and act on the problems alone,” Marcos said in Filipino during his meeting with the Filipino community in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sunday.
The APEC serves as the premier Asia-Pacific economic forum established in 1989 with the primary goal of supporting sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
APEC’s 21 member economies are home to more than 2.9 billion people and makeup over 60 percent of the global gross domestic product.
APEC membership includes Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Chinese-Taipei, Thailand and the United States of America.
Marcos’ trip to Thailand will be his fifth official foreign trip in his first six months in office. He made state visits to Indonesia and Singapore and a working visit to the United States of America to attend the 77th United Nations General Assembly.
His most recent foreign trip was a working visit to Cambodia to attend the ASEAN Summits and Related Summits from 10 to 13 November.
He is set to fly to China on 3 January for a state visit upon the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez earlier said Marcos will be flying to the United States “at least twice” in 2023 to attend the APEC meet and the Summit for Democracy.