By Alec Go
The Philippines will continue to strengthen its ties with Lao PDR and Vietnam in various areas including trade, health, and people-to-people exchanges, Malacañang said, following separate meetings between the country leaders.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., met with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the sidelines of the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.
Marcos told Siphandone that the Philippines and Lao can work on education, tourism, and trade, noting that “there’s much potential” in ASEAN economies as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have 2,000 more or less Filipino nationals who are living in Lao and working in Lao PDR and we are very proud of the contributions that they have made, especially in the educational sector,” Marcos said during the bilateral meeting with Laos.
“But also there’s much more to that; there’s also an educational aspect and I think that we have the basis in our agreements and we can build upon that regard,” he added.
Marcos also received an invitation to visit Lao PDR.
In his meeting with Vietnam’s Chinh, both leaders agreed to continue cooperation on trade and investment, tourism, agriculture, and defense and security.
“I think that the market is ripe for continued development in the areas of course as I mention, in agriculture, transfer of technologies for climate change, the different areas that we have been looking at also at specific products that Vietnam has been successful at,” Marcos said.
He also noted Vietnam as a partner in rehabilitating Philippine tourism, as well as the role of the private sector in improving the two countries’ ties.
The Vietnamese leader meanwhile said it will continue to work with the Philippines on trade and supply.
“When it comes to products that we can afford to provide a long term strategic supply to the Philippines to continue to try to do so by tasking with the ministries and agencies to work on said matters because we do have great empathy with sympathy for the Philippines in the natural disaster that they often have to come across,” Chinh said.
Vietnam also asked for the Philippines’ support in its bid to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, the UN Security Council, the Presidency of the 91st session of the United Nations General Assembly, and to the UN Commission of International Trade.
