Marcos: Many businesses in Cambodia expressed interest in Philippines

Many businesses in Cambodia have already expressed interest in investing in the Philippines, according to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

In a video message filmed Thursday night, Marcos said his meeting with business leaders in Phnom Penh has been productive. He said they have seen partnership when it comes to food and agriculture.

"I think we have lots of potential areas that we can further develop. Some of them have already --- have many interests already in the Philippines. They already --- they also would like us to come into Cambodia, especially in terms of food, in terms of agriculture, as well," Marcos said.

"So housing, we talked about everything. So that’s how we started off and I think it was a very productive meeting," he added.

Marcos has encouraged business leaders in Cambodia to come to the Philippines and invest, saying the Philippine government needs partners from the private sector to transform the economy.

Meanwhile, the President also mentioned his bilateral talk with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in which they had a lengthy discussion about the conflict in Myanmar.

"The last bilateral meeting I had was with the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Hun Sen and we discussed at length Myanmar and the possible areas of agreement within the different member states in ASEAN including --- up to and including the problems that we are feeling from the conflict in eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine," Marcos said. 

Both leaders have agreed that patience is the key in dealing with the situation in Myanmar.

"So perhaps your advice Mr. Prime Minister as you have great experience in this matter, perhaps your advice to be patient, is the best that we can do right now. But we can still do more in terms of engagement in Myanmar. I'm in full agreement with you, Mr. Prime Minister, that that is the way forward," Marcos told the Cambodian leader in the meeting.

Marcos also raised the need to examine the "dynamics" of politics in Myanmar while engaging with the country "in every way possible." 

Myanmar has been trapped in a cycle of violence since the army ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February 2021, detaining her and thousands of activists and launching a bloody crackdown on protests and dissent.

The ASEAN has been leading diplomatic efforts to resolve the turmoil that has gripped Myanmar since the military seized power last year. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ/KBK, GMA Integrated News