Villamor Air Base, Pasay City
July 25, 2023

“Building on the successful visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim to the Philippines in March 2023, I believe that this is an opportune time to harness the potentials of a revitalized relationship between the Philippines and Malaysia,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said as he departed for a three-day State Visit to Malaysia from 25-27 July 2023.

The President’s visit aims to identify new areas of synergies that can propel the two countries’ partnership and serve as a roadmap for their respective agencies to work on for the mutual benefit of the two nations and their peoples towards the new century.

“In order to assist our nation’s trajectory of economic growth and to meet our economic target of 6.4% year-on-year GDP growth this year, my visit will focus on the renewed partnerships in the fields of agriculture, food security, digital economy, tourism, people-to-people exchanges, as well as explore new avenues for cooperation, particularly in areas of the halal industry and Islamic Banking,” the President stated, citing that the halal industry is expected to grow to a trillion-dollar market as its global demand continues to expand.

Malaysia is one of the global leaders in the halal industry and President Marcos Jr. aims to forge synergies with its regional neighbor to enjoy a share of this market.

Furthermore, the Chief Executive will meet with Malaysian business leaders through an investment forum, roundtable discussion and business meetings organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to create new ventures that will increase bilateral trade volumes and investments.

“I will be meeting our hardworking kababayans in Malaysia to personally show the nation’s care and protection and reassure them that the government is continuously working to ensure their safety and well-being. It is also my belief that through the investments we bring in from my various foreign visits, soon, our kababayans will no longer be forced to work abroad but will have a choice to come home and find suitable work in the Philippines so that they may be reunited with their families,” he stressed.

President Marcos Jr.’s State Visit to Malaysia comes at an opportune time as both nations will celebrate six (6) decades of formal diplomatic relations in 2024.

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