By Prince Golez
An enhanced partnership is critical for Asia Pacific nations, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said as he cited the current geopolitical situation.
“Now we have a situation where partnerships have become extremely important and it might be the key to maintaining the peace not only in the Asia Pacific but the Indo-Pacific region,” Marcos Jr. said during a courtesy call of Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Malacañang Thursday.
“That I think is probably the key element in many of the relationships that we have not only between Australia and the Philippines but also of the countries around the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
Wong’s visit, the President hopes, will contribute to such efforts “when we are continuing to try and strengthen all our partnerships in terms of trade, in terms of people-to-people relationship, and in security and defense.”
Marcos also emphasized the relevance of the Australian official’s visit to the Philippines, saying that the two countries must sustain relationships, partnerships, alliances amid the rapidly changing geo-political situation.
“Therefore, we have to stay in very close communication so that we present a common plan to meet not only with ASEAN but all member states around the Indo-Pacific,” he told Wong.
Aside from other areas of partnership, Marcos Jr. raised the need to ensure economic security cooperation with Australia, particularly as the country’s undergoes transformation.
“The very important partner in the transformation of our economy is the private sector. And therefore, we welcome any contact with the private sector because we feel that it is impossible for the government to do it all alone,” according to him.
“And in that regard, we have now changed many of our regulations, many of our laws to encourage private partnerships with the government, joint venture partnerships with corporations, and every other possible combination of those elements,” he furthered.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive said he expects to have another opportunity to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in September. They held a bilateral meeting at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting last year.
During the courtesy call, Wong conveyed Albanese’s message to Marcos Jr., highlighting the need to further strengthen their strategic partnership.
“We want to work with you for our mutual benefit recognizing the importance of economic strength,” the foreign minister said.
The Filipino leader also thanked Australia for hosting Filipinos, saying “we are very appreciative of the hospitality and kindness that you have shown our nationals.”
