PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. arrived yesterday from a two-day state visit to Vietnam, which focused on security and defense issues including matters concerning the West Philippine Sea.
“It has been a very productive visit considering that we are in here… for 24 hours. But this has been a product of a great deal of discussion and hard work on both sides, on the Philippines’ side and on the Vietnam side,” he said in a press conference before leaving for Manila.
In a videotaped-arrival statement, the President talked about his engagements with Vietnamese government officials led by President Vo van Thuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue with whom he discussed strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the areas of defense, maritime, trade and investment, economic, education, tourism and culture, people-to-people exchanges and parliamentary cooperation.
In his meeting with Hue, Marcos said, he discussed the creation of the Philippines-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group “and recognized its fundamental role in maintaining an open communication where our countries could engage in policy dialogue and exchanges, so as to enrich our parliamentary cooperation.”
“On cooperation between our political parties, I envision that the mandate of our political parties is to promote national security, enhance socio-economic development, and uplift the lives of our peoples,” he said.
The President said Vietnam also expressed interest in the Philippines’ taxation system, universal health care, and digitalization policy.
“[T]he vibrant discussions with parliamentarians across the region in an open and trusting environment helped achieve our common objective of promoting understanding, collaboration, and commitment to advance peace and development in the region,” he said.
The President also invited businesses to invest in in the Philippines in the areas of energy, digital technology, agriculture, and transportation, during a meeting with business leaders.
Marcos also met with the Filipino community whom he had acknowledged for their contribution to the country not just through their remittances but also for their presence abroad, which he said contributes to the promotion of a good image for Filipinos.
He said that “Vietnam is very interested in coming to the Philippines.”
AGREEMENTS
Marcos also touted the exchange of several agreements between Manila and Hanoi, including a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Rice Trade Cooperation, Understanding on Incident Prevention and Management in the South China Sea; MOU on Cooperation in Agriculture and Related Fields; MOU between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Vietnam Coast Guard on Maritime Cooperation; and Cultural Cooperation Program between the Philippines’ National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the period 2024 to 2029.
“The state visit aims to further strengthen our strategic partnership with Vietnam. Vietnam, being our only strategic partner in Asia and further to explore areas of cooperation while building on existing ones,” he said in the video message that was released shortly after he arrived at the Villamor Air Base around 3:30 a.m.
TRADE
The President said business groups have expressed their interest in expanding their businesses in the Philippines as well as exploring cooperation in various traditional and non-traditional economic activities. He expressed hope that trade between the two nations will increase to $10 billion from $7 billion through the exploration of the other potential areas.
Marcos said the VinGroup Company has opened up to possible collaboration to explore the fields of AI, medical courses and granting scholarships to Filipino students, in addition to establishing an electric vehicle and battery supply chains in the Philippines.
During a “Kapihan with the Media” in Vietnam on Tuesday, the President said one of the main highlights of his visit was the defense and maritime arrangement between Manila and Hanoi, which he said would not just strengthen the two nation’s coast guards but also prevent a conflict between the Philippines and Vietnam in connection with their overlapping claims over some areas in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
