Marcos’ trip to Cambodia ‘very successful’; says ‘honored’ to voice PH interest globally

FILE PHOTO: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. | PHOTO COURTESY of his official Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said he feels “honored” to have met Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders and dialogue partners during his “very successful” trip to Cambodia for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Phnom Penh.

“I was honored to meet them and I thanked them for their efforts and contribution to our nation’s progress and development, as well as that of Cambodia’s,” he said in his arrival speech at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.

The chief executive said he was able to “articulate our national interests” during his four-day trip to Cambodia.

“Tayo, sa Pilipinas, we also got the opportunity to put forward our position, our plans, and to find ways where we can help each other,” Marcos said.

During the summits, Marcos said there was “a very large area of consensus” among Asean member states.

“Pare-pareho kasi, food supply, presyo ng fertilizer, presyo ng langis, yun ang inaalala. Supply side problems, parehong-pareho sa atin… Nagkakaunawaan lahat ng member states. Hindi kaya nang mag-isa, kailangan sama-sama,” he noted.

“In all these meetings, we articulated our national interests and our commitment to working with ASEAN and our Dialogue Partners to find common ground to address the issues affecting our region and to strengthen cooperation,” he added,

The President likewise cited his bilateral discussions with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and congratulated him on Cambodia’s successful chairmanship of ASEAN this year.

He said he also had bilateral meetings with leaders from Brunei, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, and Canada.

“In these meetings, we discussed how we can deepen cooperation in key areas and exchanged views on important regional and global issues,” Marcos pointed out.

The President also thanked the Cambodian government for extending warm hospitality to the Philippine delegation.

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