Marcos on trade between ASEAN, GCC: Go beyond traditional patterns

KUALA LUMPUR — President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said Tuesday that ASEAN's current trade patterns with Gulf nations have remained limited, noting the need to go beyond the traditional trade.

''While there is strong potential, it is also clear that our current trade patterns remain limited in scope and concentrated in a narrow band of sectors. To unlock the full promise of our partnership, we must go beyond traditional trade and leverage our complementary strengths,'' Marcos said during the 2nd ASEAN – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit.

''ASEAN, with its rapidly growing digital economy and youthful, tech-savvy population, can partner with the GCC, whose strengths in energy, investment capital, and logistics infrastructure are meeting globally,'' he added.

Marcos sees strong potential in expanding collaboration in halal trade and standard harmonization, where both ASEAN and GCC can lead globally.

''ASEAN's diverse halal food industry, coupled with the GCC's established halal consumer base and certification systems, create an opportunity to build a seamless, trusted halal value chain,'' he said.

The GCC is an important region for the Philippines on the aspect of labor mobility, where more than 2.7 million citizens from ASEAN member states and more than two million of whom are overseas Filipino workers, according to Marcos.

''They contribute significantly not only to the economies of their host countries, but also to those in the Philippines and the wider ASEAN region,'' Marcos said.

He said it is important for both regions to continue to provide upskilling opportunities and ensure the protection and promotion of their rights and their welfare. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News