Jakarta, Indonesia
September 7, 2023

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Mark Brown of the Cook Islands on the sidelines of the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The President briefs the Prime Minister on the Philippines’ key agendas in the ASEAN and other priority areas.

This December 2023, the Philippines and the Cook Islands will celebrate 12 years of formal diplomatic relations. There are over 500 Filipinos residing in Cook Islands.

The Cook Islands was invited by President Joko Widodo of Indonesia for its position as Chair of the Pacific Island Forum (PIF), along with Bangladesh as Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

During his attendance, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the ASEAN and PIF that calls for collaboration in a wide array of areas, including maritime cooperation, connectivity, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), economic partnerships and much more. It also highlights people-to-people exchanges, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian assistance, and the development of digital and green economies.

The Cook Islands is set to host the 52nd PIF under the theme, ‘Our Voices, Our Choices, Our Pacific Way: Promote, Partner, Prosper’, in November 2023.

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