President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said he was invited by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to return to the United Kingdom (UK) to discuss new trade deals.
Marcos said Sunak extended the invitation during their brief meeting over the weekend, when the President visited the UK for the coronation of King Charles III.
Prior to their meeting, the President said he already talked with the British trade representative about potential Philippines-UK business deals after he arrived at the London Gatwick Airport last Saturday.
“We talked about it and we [concluded we] won’t be able to do it right now because we have maybe about seven minutes or six minutes,” Marcos told reporters in a news conference after his arrival in Indonesia to attend the 42nd Asean Summit Tuesday night.
Sunak also expressed interest in the recruitment of more Filipino health care workers due to their exemplary service at the National Health System of UK during the pandemic, according to Marcos.
On a lighter note, Marcos said he also met with the wife of Sunak, who supposedly took a selfie with him upon the request of their Filipino household service worker.
Warmest felicitations
The President also shared his brief conversation with King Charles III to congratulate the British royalty on his historic coronation.
He said the King expressed concern over the strong typhoons, which hit the country due to climate change.
For his part, he apologized for not being able to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and personally expressed his condolences to the royal family for their loss.
He said they also talked about his mother, Imelda Marcos, whom the King personally knows.
“My mother used to be the representative of my father in foreign [engagements], while he [King Charles] used to be the representative of the Queen so they used to meet a lot,” Marcos explained in Filipino.
“He said give her my warmest felicitations. We have so much fun together,” Marcos added.