By Brian Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. congratulated Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming during their inauguration at the House of Representatives Building in Jakarta on Sunday.
The President and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos flew to Indonesia on Saturday to join other world leaders in witnessing the Indonesian leaders’ inauguration.
“As a fellow founding member of the ASEAN, Indonesia is one of the Philippines’ long standing partners and closest friends in the region,” Marcos said in a Facebook post.
The Chief Executive, likewise, stressed the Philippines’ commitment to deepening its cooperation with Indonesia, especially as both nations are gearing for their 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations next month.
“I reaffirm our nation’s desire to further strengthen our bilateral ties with Indonesia on this momentous occasion and in lieu of our diplomatic relations’ 75th anniversary in November.”
Prabowo, now the 8th president of Southeast Asia’s largest economy, visited the Philippines in September, where they affirmed their intention to boost the bilateral ties between their nations.
The First Couple was invited by Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko Widodo, whose eldest son, Gibran, became Indonesia’s youngest vice president.
Meanwhile, Marcos also thanked Widodo for his contributions in strengthening Manila and Jakarta’s partnership during his term as president of Indonesia.
“We also acknowledge the contributions of former president Joko Widodo, whose efforts have strengthened Indonesia’s path forward. Here’s to the continued friendship and collaboration between our nations,” Marcos said in a separate social media post. —av