Marcos sees ties between PH, Singapore to continue to flourish

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is not seeing a paradigm shift when it comes to the good relations between the Philippines and Singapore, noting that the latter has been the largest source of foreign investments in the country.

In a roundtable discussion with Singaporean business leaders on Wednesday, Marcos expressed confidence that the future is bright for the two countries given their strong bilateral relations.

He stressed that the ties between Singapore and the Philippines have started at the people-to-people level, which has been the bedrock of all other agreements, partnerships, and alliances.

“And in that time between the very beginning of that relationship, we haven’t come across really any significant issues, diplomatic, political, or otherwise between Singapore and the Philippines. And I think that is the reason why, at some point, Singapore was the largest source for foreign investment in the Philippines," Marcos said.

The President said he does not see the ties changing in any way, or "no paradigm shift in terms of geopolitical positioning, and in multilateral relationship with the rest of ASEAN and with the rest of Asia."

“So for me, the future is bright for the Philippines and Singapore. And I see more opportunities than we have ever had before in fact, and it’s just up to us to identify those and to agree on how to best respond to the changes that we now face,” he said.

Marcos is in Singapore as he had a speaking engagement at the 10th Asia Summit. He is set to return to Manila on Sunday.

He will also attend the finals of the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2023 upon the invitation of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Last year, Marcos' attendance at the event was criticized by the public. The President, however, said the event was the best way to drum up business.

While the President is in Singapore, Vice President Sara Duterte is the country's caretaker.

The Presidential Communications Office said that Singapore has been the Philippines’ steadfast partner in its economic journey through the largest source of foreign direct investments in 2021, with a net of foreign direct investment (FDI) of US$761 million. 

It said that the trend continued into the following year with Singapore committing a substantial portion of foreign investment pledges significantly contributing to the Philippines’ remarkable economic expansion of 7.6% in 2022.—AOL, GMA Integrated News