Marcos flies to Singapore for state visit

JAKARTA, Indonesia —President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday morning left Indonesia for Singapore as part of his inaugural state visits this week.

Marcos will be in Singapore from September 6 to 7 to hold separate meetings with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong regarding bilateral relations and other matters.

According to the Office of the Press Secretary citing the Presidential Security Group, Marcos left Indonesia at 10:12 a.m. 

During his departure speech for Indonesia last Sunday, Marcos said he is expecting to bring home a harvest of investment deals that will strengthen economic relations with Singapore as well as with Indonesia.

"I shall meet both President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to renew our commitment to deepen bilateral relations, explore options for advancing our economic ties, as well as discuss regional and global issues. Prime Minister Lee and I will also witness the signing of several agreements," Marcos had said.

According to the President, Singapore has become the Philippines' top trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the top source of approved investments in 2021.

He said Singapore has been a home to 200,000 Filipinos and that they make the Philippines proud for their contribution to the economies of both countries.

Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said a memorandum of understanding would be signed regarding cooperation and personal data protection. This deal will be inked by the National Privacy Commission and the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore.

Four deals

While Marcos was in Indonesia, four agreements on economy, culture, and defense were signed.

The deals were presented to Marcos and Indonesian President Joko Widodo before the two delivered their joint statements on Monday. They were:

• Plan of Action between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines from 2022 to 2027, presented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo;
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines on Cultural Cooperation, presented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo;
• Agreement on Cooperative Activities in the Field of Defense and Security between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, presented by the Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto and Senior Undersecretary of the Department of Defense Jose Faustino Jr.; and
• Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the Development and Promotion of Creative Economy between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, presented by Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno and DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual

According to Marcos, he and Jokowi talked "at length" about the role the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should play "while we face the difficulties in this very volatile time in geopolitics not only in our region but also in the rest of the world." —LDF/KBK, GMA News