The Philippines will woo investors from Laos and will pursue stronger partnership with Vietnam on trade and agriculture.
President Marcos Jr., in his meeting with the Filipino community in Laos Tuesday night, said he will continue promoting the country as an investment destination.
The President is in Vientiane for the 44th and 45 Asean Summit and Related Summits until October 11. He was expected to attend a Business and Investment Summit yesterday.
“My countrymen, we are doing everything to give every Filipino a bright future. So that no Filipino would soon need to leave to work abroad,” he said.
The President also thanked the Filipino workers abroad for their contributions to the Philippines’ development and economy as well as their contribution to their host country.
He asked them to continue being the ambassadors of goodwill, underscoring their importance in forging stronger people-to-people connections between the two nations.
On Tuesday evening, the President met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ahead of the Asean Summit and discussed ways to deepen and strengthen their partnership.
“Both of our nations are on parallel paths of economic transformation, and I’m confident that our healthy collaboration and competition will continue to benefit our people. I look forward to building on this momentum and exploring new ways to collaborate for the benefit of both our nations,” Marcos said in a social media post.
The Presidential Communications Office said the two leaders had also reaffirmed their commitment to enhance the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Vietnam as well as to continue discussions on other potential areas of cooperation.
“We have made a good deal of progress since our very first discussion and some of the engagements between our two countries,” Marcos was quoted as saying.
The Philippines and Vietnam had previously signed various agreements including on rice trade cooperation, incident prevention in the South China Sea, agriculture and cultural cooperation.
The Prime Minister, for his part, reaffirmed Vietnam’s unwavering commitment to the Philippines and its support for the strategic partnership between Hanoi and Manila.
Before concluding their meeting, the President expressed his condolences to Vietnam for the loss of lives caused by typhoon Yagi and for the demise on July 19, 2024 of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
