Marcos departs for Brunei state visit

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. departed Manila for Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei on Tuesday morning for a state visit. 

During his two-day state visit, Marcos will have a meeting with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah to discuss possible economic cooperation between the two countries. 

Upon landing, Marcos will head directly to Istana Nurul Iman for the meeting with Bolkiah, the world's longest reigning monarch and once the richest man on the planet.

“As soon as I arrive at Bandar Seri Begawan, I will be meeting with His Majesty Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah to review the progress of our bilateral cooperation, explore new mutually beneficial partnership and collaboration aimed at achieving prosperity,” Marcos said in his departure speech at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

According to Marcos, they are expecting to set several agreements on security, tourism, and agriculture.

“I will discuss with His Majesty ways for further cooperation with Brunei in ensuring the defense of our country and among the region,” Marcos said.

“We will sign the Philippines-Brunei Darussalam [memorandum of understanding] on tourism cooperation and through this MOU we hope to entice and attract Bruneian tourists to explore the Philippines,” he added.

There will also be business forums and meetings where the President is expected to promote trade and investment relations between the Philippines and Brunei, an oil-rich sultanate. 

“Tomorrow, I will engage business communities in the Sultanate and highlight the Philippines as one of the fastest growing economies of Asia, best as a good choice for investment,” Marcos said.

“I look forward to securing investment that will generate more jobs, contribute to poverty alleviation, and accelerate the economic transformation of our country,” he added.

Marcos is also set to meet with the Filipino community there on Tuesday night. There are 25,000 Filipinos currently residing in Brunei, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs  (DFA)

The diplomatic relations between the two countries was established on January 1, 1984. 

The Philippines and Brunei have a Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC). According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, it is “a mechanism for the two countries to monitor and evaluate the progress of implementing various aspects of cooperation, particularly agreements, and, where necessary, resolve outstanding issues.” 

After his state visit to Brunei, Marcos will go to Singapore for his participation at the IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies) Shangri-La Dialogue. Marcos is the first Filipino president who will have a keynote address at the dialogue, which is dubbed as Asia’s premier defense summit.

“It is extremely timely that I attend and put forward, articulate the Philippines' perspective and outlook on defense and diplomacy while we continue to highlight the Philippines' commitment to a rules-based international order and constructive multilateralism amid the current geopolitical challenge that we face in our region,” Marcos said. —with Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA Integrated News