PRESIDENT FERDINAND Marcos Jr thanked Malaysia for its warm reception following his state visit last week on the invitation of the Malaysian King Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Marcos and First Lady Louise
Marcos were was
personally welcomed by the King and Queen Azizah, as well as Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
The King (Yang di-Pertuan
Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah) has expressed his hope that
the warm relationship enjoyed by Malaysia and the Philippines will continue to
blossom for the mutual benefit of their peoples and nations.
Al-Sultan Abdullah
said the Philippines is an important partner to Malaysia, given the
Philippines’ close proximity and active involvement in Asean.
“Bound by our shared
aspirations of progress, peace and prosperity, our two countries share many
commonalities and strong people-to-people ties … to this day, we have faced
many common challenges, but we have also achieved much more together.”
“Mutual efforts and
understanding are vital to further elevate our close relations and good
cooperation to new heights … I hope that Malaysia and the Philippines can
expand their collaborations and partnership in new and emerging areas such as
agriculture, digital economy, and halal food industry,” said His Majesty.
Al-Sultan Abdullah said
regular exchanges of high-level visits among leaders and officials of both
countries will further contribute to a positive momentum in advancing
shared interests and addressing common challenges.
His Majesty said both
countries must continue to work closely in promoting the region’s stability,
security and in making Asean a dynamic regional organisation. “Shared peace and
progress can only be achieved and maintained through stability and prosperity
in the region and the world as a whole. Together, we shall continue to build a
brighter future for our people and the generations to come, especially as we
seek to celebrate our 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year,”
he said.
Marcos said: “It is time
for us to really examine those relationships and re-strengthen those
relationships and that, for me, is the most important aspect of this visit that
I have made to Kuala Lumpur, to Malaysia.
“I believe that it is the
way for us to refocus our efforts together to mutually beneficial initiatives
for our two countries and to see how we can help one another as we face the
post-pandemic future,” he said, adding “the post-pandemic scenario is a very
different road that the two nations now face, compared to what we faced before
the pandemic.”
According to the President,
their memberships in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and in the
BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth
Area) still continue to strengthen their relationship as they come back and
start to emerge from the difficult period in the last two and a half years of
the pandemic.
The two countries must
recreate and transform themselves to be competitive and to be part of a new
world order as it is happening and transforming now.
“We will play a very large
part in that transformation. And that transformation is going to strengthen and
be made more stable by this partnership that we make with each other. And so,
it becomes more and more important for me that these partnerships we will
foster on a cultural level and the people-to-people (diplomacy) now continue to
be expanded and to gain stature in the way that we promote that relationship
between our two countries,” Marcos said.
He
said traveling to Malaysia strengthens the Philippines’ relationship with its
Southeast Asian neighbor and to ensure the welfare of Filipinos in that
country. (Bernama, Mindanao
Examiner)
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