Philippines, Malaysia to hold joint commission meeting in October

KUALA LUMPUR - President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Wednesday that the Philippines and Malaysia would hold a joint commission meeting in October aimed at exploring synergies for future partnerships.

"This afternoon, the Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim) and I recalled his successful official visit to Manila last March. In the spirit of exploring synergies for future partnerships, we agreed to convene the next Philippines-Malaysia Joint Commission Meeting in the near future. I believed the date that we decided upon was around sometime in October," Marcos said in the joint statement.

"We do this so that our government agencies will have an avenue to discuss priority cooperation in detail, most especially in the areas of transnational crimes, agriculture, the Halal industry, Islamic banking, education, tourism and culture, sports, and the digital economy," he added.

In April 2011, the 7th Malaysia-Philippines JCM took place in Manila, where views were exchanged on politics and security; trade and investment; agriculture; tourism; education; health; information, communication, and culture; air services; and consular matters.

Marcos said the two governments would continue to work on the corresponding memoranda of understanding in those fields so that they could be signed in the future.

The two leaders also vowed to enhance trade and investment ties.

"With Malaysia being one of the leading halal economies in the world, cooperation in this sector would mutually benefit the growth of our respective halal ecosystems," said Marcos.

Marcos is in Kuala Lumpur for a state visit and will return to the Philippines on Thursday afternoon. —VBL, GMA Integrated News