President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is eyeing an expansion of the Philippines’ trade and investment relations with Singapore.
This came after Marcos received the credentials of Singaporean Ambassador-designate to the Philippines, Constance See Sin Yuan in Malacañang Palace on Thursday.
The President said the country shares a “deep-rooted history of collaboration and cooperation” with Singapore in various areas of mutual interest.
“Our bilateral relations have flourished over the past five decades, encompassing trade and investment, defense and security, education, and cultural exchanges,” he said.
As co-founders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Marcos said the Philippines and Singapore have become partners in advancing key issues in regional and international fora, cognizant of the importance of maintaining ASEAN centrality amidst the shifting winds of geopolitics and great power rivalries.
The active bilateral ties between both countries were also strengthened following the State Visit of Singaporean President Halimah Yacob to the Philippines in 2019, where both countries celebrated their golden jubilee of diplomatic ties. While Marcos visited Singapore last year.
“Such high-level visits of our government officials attest to our flourishing ties and our high regard for Singapore as a bilateral and regional partner,” Marcos said.
Marcos noted that the Philippines and Singapore’s economic relations remain “robust” as the countries’ total bilateral trade has increased to USD 13 billion in 2022.
Apart from this, Singapore remains the country’s largest source of approved investments amounting to USD 2.4 billion in the same year.
Marcos also recognized the two countries’ effective cooperation on defense and security—resulting in the successful combating of terrorism and national crimes for the past years.
He recalled the signing of two Arrangements concerning the Regional Counter-Terrorism Information Facility as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
“Our increasing people-to-people ties continue to strengthen our bridges of understanding and friendship through cultural exchanges and capacity-building programs,” he added.
See Sin Yuan, for her part, said the state visits hugely contributed to the boosting of Philippines-Singapore cooperation, in terms of financial technology, sustainability, and energy.
“So, we’re keen to move forward on all these. You might also know that we are enhancing our defense cooperation,” she added.