By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
After departing for Vancouver at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (local time), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos arrived in Canada at 8:00 a.m. Thursday (local time).
The First Couple was accorded arrival honors by Canadian officials upon the arrival of the plane carrying the Philippine delegation to Canada.
President Marcos Jr.’s arrival marks the beginning of his four-day official visit to Canada, where he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney to enhance ties between Manila and Vancouver.
The President is likewise expected to engage in high-level talks with top executives representing the Canadian business sectors to encourage further investments in various sectors such as mining, information technology, business process management, telecommunications, nuclear energy, and financial services in the Philippines.
Among the chief priorities laid by the Chief Executive in his departure statement before heading to the 11th largest economy in the world were trade, labor, energy, and tourism.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in his briefing late Wednesday that the two nations seek to enhance their collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region to uphold international order, as well as work on a trading policy in conjunction with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through the proposed ASEAN-CANADA free trade agreement.
Rounding off his plethora of engagements in Vancouver, President Marcos Jr. is also set to engage with the 1-million-strong Filipino community in Canada, with the North American nation having the highest number of overseas Filipinos working and residing in a foreign state. (with report from Kenneth Paciente | PTV News)
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