NEW trade and investment opportunities as well as peace and security topped the issues raised during the bilateral meeting of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday.
In their joint press conference, Marcos said he discussed the expansion of the country’s existing trade with Malaysia.
“We agreed to reinvigorate trade and investment exchanges with a special focus on halal industry, agriculture and food security and the digital economy,” Marcos said.
Ibrahim said they explored possible people-to-people exchanges particularly in tourism, education, and sports. He also committed that Malaysia is ready to continue extending capacity-building assistance to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and other areas in Mindanao through its Malaysia Technical Cooperation Program.
Marcos recognized the important role of Malaysia in brokering the peace deal between the Philippine government and Islamic rebels.
Peace and security matters
ALSO discussed at the meeting were measures to ensure peace and security in the Southeast Asian region, which includes rekindling the Philippine-Malaysia “joint commission meetings and initiatives to combat transnational crime and terrorism.”
“We have thus resolved to support development and peace-building initiatives within this group, including the importance of achieving a resolution to the situation in Myanmar,” Marcos said.
Ibrahim expressed his concern with the “contentious and unresolved” issue in Myanmar after its military junta talked over its government in 2021, which has led to over 200,000 refugees escaping to Malaysia.
While Marcos suggested that Malaysia support the five-point consensus of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) to address the matter, Ibrahim urged the President to help him come up with ways to persuade the Myanmar junta to collaborate with other Asean member states.
The consensus includes putting an end to violence in Myanmar and for the junta to allow ASEAN to send humanitarian aid and special Asean envoy to its territory.
Both state leaders agreed to address China’s territorial dispute with Asean member states in the South China Sea at the multilateral level. Ibrahim is the first head of state who was received by Marcos during his administration.
The Malaysian leader is scheduled to end his two-day visit to the country on Thursday.
