President Marcos off to Malaysia next week
Credit to Author: Helen Flores| Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos will embark on a three-day state visit to Malaysia next week aimed at strengthening ties with the fellow Southeast Asian country and promoting the Philippines as an attractive investment and tourism destination, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.
DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will be in Malaysia from July 25 to 27 upon the invitation of Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
The President will leave the country on Tuesday, a day after delivering his second State of the Nation Address.
“During the visit the President will have an audience with the king of Malaysia and a meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to identify new areas of synergy between the two countries,” Daza said at a pre-departure briefing at Malacañang.
She said the reciprocal visit between the leaders of both countries this year is a testament to the reintegrated relationship between the Philippines and Malaysia. Anwar made a two-day official visit to the Philippines in March.
Apart from the First Lady, also joining the President to Malaysia are Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, members of the economic team and a business delegation, the DFA official said.
She added that the Philippine government expects to generate investment pledges during Marcos’ meeting with key Malaysian business leaders there.
Asked about the possibility of the President inviting Malaysian businessmen to invest in the recently enacted Maharlika Investment Fund, Daza replied, “It’s pretty safe to assume that it will be raised and promoted during this visit.”
Malaysia is the top 10 trading partner of the Philippines and the top 22nd source of approved investments in the Philippines in 2022, according to Daza. Malaysia also ranks top 20 in terms of source of tourist arrivals in 2023, she added.
“As expected the President will actively promote the Philippines as an attractive trade investment and tourist destination,” Daza said. The official also cited the significance of the state visits by the two leaders as the Philippines and Malaysia mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
While in Malaysia, the President will also meet with the Filipino community there and to personally inform them of the administration’s plans and programs for overseas Filipinos.
Asked whether Marcos will bring up the Sabah issue during his meeting with Anwar, Daza said. “It’s very difficult to preempt the discussion. So I have no comment on whether it will actually be discussed.”
Marcos and Anwar tackled the Sabah issue during their bilateral meeting in Malacañang in March.
Marcos, in a vlog in March, said the Philippines and Malaysia have agreed to hold in-depth discussions on their territorial dispute over Sabah.