Marcos, Sri Lankan president discuss ASEAN, RCEP

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday met with Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference.

On Facebook post, Marcos shared photos of his meeting with Wickremesinghe and several government officials.

“We discussed the upcoming ASEAN conference and explored the possibility of having a monitoring and regulatory body to administer the RCEP,” Marcos said.

“We both believe this will be beneficial to all ASEAN members,” he added.

Marcos earlier said that the ratification of the RCEP would be one of the priorities of the Senate once the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 is passed by Congress.

The RCEP, a trade accord that involves the 10-member ASEAN along with China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, was approved by the Palace in September last year and brought to the Senate for concurrence.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the RCEP was expected to generate a 10.47% increase in the country’s exports and 2.02% increase in real gross domestic product.

Marcos earlier voiced his concerns about the trade agreement, saying that he did not know if the nation's agriculture industry was strong enough to withstand the competition that opening markets would bring about. —Richa Noriega/NB, GMA News