November 7 ------ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be attending three international meetings before the year ends, making his schedule packed for the last two months of 2022.
In November, Marcos will have two international engagements in Asia as he is set to participate in the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Thailand. The ASEAN Summit will take place in Phnom Penh from Nov. 10 to 13, while APEC will be held in Bangkok from Nov. 14 to 19.
Then in December, the President will fly to Belgium to attend the ASEAN-European Union (EU) Commemorative Summit, where a trade deal between the two regions is expected to be discussed. “November will be quite hectic…it was a hectic period for the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and the government because of the number of meetings that are going to be attended and participated in,” DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said in a pre-departure briefing.
At the ASEAN Summit, state leaders will discuss the development of the five-point consensus, which was agreed by ASEAN member states to stop violence in junta-ruled Myanmar, and to call for a dialogue among concerned parties, said DFA Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Daniel Espiritu. There, the President will also raise his concerns on food and energy security, on the South China Sea, on climate change and on post-pandemic economic recovery, Espiritu added.
Meanwhile, according to Daza, Marcos’ participation in the APEC will be “significant” considering that the Philippines is one of the founding members of the inter-governmental forum that is composed of 21 member states. “It is significant to the Philippines largely because for the Philippines, APEC economies account for 85 percent of total trade of the Philippines,” Daza said. “Over 7.5 million out of 10.7 billion or 70 percent of Filipinos abroad call APEC region home. They are also responsible for 68 percent of the remittances, making it its way to the Philippine economy,” she added.
At APEC, Espiritu added that state leaders will discuss post-pandemic recovery and other world crises affecting the economy, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “So the agenda there, especially on post pandemic recovery would be very crucial for the economic agenda of the region, especially in terms of resolving the outstanding issues,” Espiritu said.
Source: mb.com.ph
Comments