DAYS after his trip to Australia, President Marcos Jr. is set to leave again, this time for a working visit to Germany and a state visit to the Czech Republic from March 11 to 15, the Presidential Communications Office (CO) said yesterday.
The PCO said the visit to Germany is on the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz while Czech President Petr Pavel invited the Philippine leader for a state visit.
The PCO said the visits seek to strengthen relations and increase cooperation of the Philippines with the two nations.
In Berlin, Marcos is set to meet with Scholz, while in Prague, the President will have separate meetings with Pavel, Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and the Senate President MiloÅ¡ VystrÄil, and Chamber of Deputies president Markéta Pekarová Adamová
The President will also meet with business leaders from the two countries to bolster trade and investment opportunities, and meet with the Filipino communities in Germany and the Czech Republic to relay to them his administration’s programs for the overseas Filipinos.
Marcos’ trip to the two European nations follows the visits to Manila of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in April 2023 and German Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in January 2024.
The visits are also significant as the Philippines just celebrated the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations with the Czech Republic last year and will commemorate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Germany this year.
It will be Marcos. Fifth and sixth international trip this year.
Meanwhile, the Philippines and the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) are looking at advancing a fisheries cooperation agreement and exploring new areas of cooperation.
The President yesterday welcomed in Malacañang Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine who is in the Philippines to attend the International Women’s Day event organized by the Asian Development Bank.
Marcos reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to strengthen cooperation with RMI.
In Instagram, he said he is “setting a promising course for closer Pacific engagement and fisheries cooperation with Marshall Islands President, Dr. Hilda Heine.”
The Philippines and RMI established diplomatic relations on Sept. 15, 1988.
The PCO said Heine “asked for increased collaboration in various areas such as labor, education and skills training, and agricultural production.”
Heine also said her country is looking for labor arrangements with the Philippine government and the private sector. She said some of the RMI’s construction companies recruit “a number of Filipino workers.”
Heine said her country is also looking for support from the Philippines on seaweed farming, as her country diversifies people’s livelihoods amid the threats posed by climate change that triggers sea level rise. She said most of their communities live on copra.
In 2023, the country’s total trade with RMI reached $36 million, with exports valued at $3.5 million and imports at $32.4 million.
There are around 1,500 Filipinos in the Marshall Islands working mainly in the fields of clerical support, craft and trade, machine operators, and professionals.
