MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. left for Japan on Wednesday for a five-day official go to to fulfill with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako in addition to different high officers and to forge nearer bilateral ties and lure extra investments.
In his departure speech, Marcos mentioned his journey to Japan from Feb. 8 to 12 is anticipated to profit the Philippine financial system via the signing of agreements which can be anticipated to assist mitigate the challenges that the nation is dealing with.
“My bilateral visit to Japan is essential and is part of a larger foreign policy agenda to forge closer political ties, stronger defense and security cooperation, as well as lasting economic partnerships with major countries in the region amid a challenging global environment,” he mentioned.
During his imperial viewers with the emperor and empress of Japan, Marcos mentioned he’ll invite them to go to the Philippines.
“I will also invite them to visit the Philippines to be welcomed by the warm hospitality of Filipinos who have endeared Japan and Japanese culture in their hearts,” he mentioned.
He will even be assembly Prime Minister Kishida Fumio “to take stock of our bilateral relations and regional cooperation in a broad range of engagements from our security and economic relations of our two countries and our continued commitment to mutual peace and prosperity.”
Marcos mentioned he and Kishida are anticipated to witness the signing and change of key agreements within the areas of humanitarian help and catastrophe reduction infrastructure, agriculture and digital cooperation.
“Many of these [memoranda of understanding] and [memoranda of agreements] and other documents that we will be witnessing are in fact the product of our meetings in New York and also in [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation],” he added.
He expressed confidence that the Philippines and Japan might additional develop commerce in items and providers in addition to in investments.
Marcos mentioned he will even maintain conferences with Japan’s enterprise leaders to advertise commerce and funding alternatives within the Philippines. He shall be joined by the federal government’s financial staff and key non-public sector representatives.
He, likewise, expressed pleasure about assembly with the Filipino group in Japan.
“I look forward to my meeting with the large Filipino diaspora in Japan who have been contributing through their hard work and positive disposition in building a better Philippines though they are far away through all the assistance that they have been giving to the Philippines for many, many years now,” he mentioned.
Japan is the primary nation with which the Philippines has solid a Strategic Partnership and is among the many two strategic companions of the Philippines other than Vietnam.
It can also be the one nation with which the Philippines has a bilateral free commerce settlement, the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.
In 2021, Japan was the Philippines’ second largest buying and selling companion, third largest export market and second high supply of imports.
Japan has additionally been the nation’s greatest bilateral supply of energetic Official Development Assistance, offering concessional loans to finance necessary infrastructure and capacity-building tasks, social security web packages, training, agriculture, and science and know-how help, and lots of different high-income packages. (PNA)