Villamor Air Base, Pasay City
March 3, 2024

“As the first ASEAN Leaders’ level engagement for the year, the Summit presents an opportunity to reiterate the Philippines’ national positions on regional and international issues and set the tone for ASEAN’s Dialogue Partner Summits later in the year,” said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his departure statement for Melbourne, Australia to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Australia Special Summit from March 4-6, 2024.

The President emphasized that he is expected to attend two (2) main engagements during the Summit: the Leaders’ Plenary and Leaders’ Retreat. These gatherings primarily concentrate on strengthening collaboration under the 2021-established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), with key focal points on emerging business leaders, climate and clean energy initiatives, and maritime cooperation.

“The Summit will be an opportunity for the Philippines to thank Australia, ASEAN’s oldest Dialogue Partner, for its unwavering support for the rule of law, for the 1982 UNCLOS (United [Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] and the 2016 Arbitral Award, through timely statements of support as well as through capacity-building and academic initiatives to mainstream appreciation of international law,” he remarked.

On the sidelines of the Summit, the Chief Executive is set to hold bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of Cambodia and New Zealand.

“I look forward to the opportunity to meet with the Filipino community in Melbourne as well as to promote Philippine business through the Philippine Business Forum led by our DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] Secretary,” he conveyed.

Likewise, President Marcos Jr. expressed his anticipation for the launching of the expansion of the Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), Australia’s first and fully automated container which is a subsidiary of the International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI), citing this as a testament of ICTSI’s leadership as a leading Filipino company in the field of global port management.

Moreover, he will deliver a keynote speech at the Lowy Institute where he will highlight the Philippines’ role as an active participant in world affairs and a contributor to the rules-based regional security architecture.

“This administration will continue to ensure that our constructive engagements with ASEAN, our external partners, and stakeholders, will best serve our national interest, in as much as we promote the region’s peace, stability, security, and prosperity, for the well-being of the Filipino people and all our region,” President Marcos Jr. ended in his message.

“As the first ASEAN Leaders’ level engagement for the year, the Summit presents an opportunity to reiterate the Philippines’ national positions on regional and international issues and set the tone for ASEAN’s Dialogue Partner Summits later in the year,” said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his departure statement for Melbourne, Australia to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Australia Special Summit from March 4-6, 2024.

The President emphasized that he is expected to attend two (2) main engagements during the Summit: the Leaders’ Plenary and Leaders’ Retreat. These gatherings primarily concentrate on strengthening collaboration under the 2021-established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), with key focal points on emerging business leaders, climate and clean energy initiatives, and maritime cooperation.

“The Summit will be an opportunity for the Philippines to thank Australia, ASEAN’s oldest Dialogue Partner, for its unwavering support for the rule of law, for the 1982 UNCLOS (United [Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] and the 2016 Arbitral Award, through timely statements of support as well as through capacity-building and academic initiatives to mainstream appreciation of international law,” he remarked.

On the sidelines of the Summit, the Chief Executive is set to hold bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of Cambodia and New Zealand.

“I look forward to the opportunity to meet with the Filipino community in Melbourne as well as to promote Philippine business through the Philippine Business Forum led by our DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] Secretary,” he conveyed.

Likewise, President Marcos Jr. expressed his anticipation for the launching of the expansion of the Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), Australia’s first and fully automated container which is a subsidiary of the International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI), citing this as a testament of ICTSI’s leadership as a leading Filipino company in the field of global port management.

Moreover, he will deliver a keynote speech at the Lowy Institute where he will highlight the Philippines’ role as an active participant in world affairs and a contributor to the rules-based regional security architecture.

“This administration will continue to ensure that our constructive engagements with ASEAN, our external partners, and stakeholders, will best serve our national interest, in as much as we promote the region’s peace, stability, security, and prosperity, for the well-being of the Filipino people and all our region,” President Marcos Jr. ended in his message.

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