Marcos arrives in Belgium for ASEAN-EU summit

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in Brussels, Belgium Monday morning (Manila time) to attend the Commemorative Summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union.

According to Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Cheloy Garafil, Marcos and the Philippine delegation arrived at the Brussels International Airport at 9:55 a.m. or at  2:55 a.m in Brussels time.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has arrived in Brussels, Belgium at 02:53AM local time. Marcos will attend the ASEAN-EU Commemorative summit with the PHL as country coordinator for the ASEAN. @gmanews

— ivan mayrina (@ivanmayrina) December 12, 2022

Marcos is expected to meet the Filipino community in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, during the summit, the President and the country’s Agriculture secretary is expected to discuss the administration’s priorities, particularly in expanding cooperation in agriculture, trade, and maritime ties.

“This will be the first meeting between ASEAN and EU Member States’ Leaders at the EU Headquarters and I am pleased to highlight the Philippines’ role as country coordinator for ASEAN in its dialogue relations with the EU,” he said in his departure speech Sunday evening.

Marcos is also set to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from Belgium, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands, and the European Union.

In an interview with reporters, he said he will bring up the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), a mechanism that allows duty-free exports to the European Union, with other world leaders.

In February, the European Parliament mulled the removal of some of the Philippines’ trading privileges should the government fail to address the alleged human rights violations in the country.

Marcos also vowed the country's compliance with European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) saying the government is doing everything to address the the latter's observations.—Joahna Lei Casilao/AOL, GMA Integrated News