Canadian FM due in Manila for 3-day visit

CANADIAN Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will be in the Philippines this week for a three-day visit aimed at promoting regional stability and rules-based international order, as well as to discuss Canada’s new Indo-Pacific strategy with Philippine officials.

Joly is expected to meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, and other members of the Cabinet to discuss regional security and stability and maintenance of a rules-based international order amid tensions in the disputed South China Sea and Taiwan Straits.

The Canadian official will also discuss Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and its partnership with the Association of South East Asian Nations in the meetings.

“The Indo-Pacific is the global center of economic dynamism and is of strategic importance to our security. What brings our countries together is our unwavering commitment to democracy, prosperity, and a free, open and sustainable Indo-Pacific, rooted in the rule of law,” Joly said in a statement.

According to her, Canada aims to “deepen relationships in the region with key partners,” including Philippines and Korea which she will be visiting before her Manila trip.

Joly is the fourth minister to visit the Philippines under the Marcos administration.

She was preceded by Minister of Trade Mary Ng, Minister of Agriculture Marie- Claude Bibeau, and Minister of Development Harjit Sajjan, complementing and reinforcing two bilateral meetings between Marcos and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year.