Malacañan Palace
September 8, 2023

“Australia’s future with Asia has really become a reality and that is why the closeness between our countries, between Australia and the Philippines, is terribly important. We have a solid basis here,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. underscored as he met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Commonwealth of Australia for a bilateral discussion together with their respective delegations at the State Dining Room in Malacañan Palace.

The Australian Prime Minister is paying his first Official Visit to the Philippines from 7-8 September 2023.

In his remarks, the President reaffirmed the Philippines’ strong ties with Australia in various areas of commitment such as diplomacy, trade, people-to-people exchanges and other agreements, which he emphasized have grown significantly throughout the years.

He also expressed his deep gratitude to the Australian leader for the strong support he has shown to the Philippines in various regional matters.

“A word of thanks for the strong support that you have made for the Philippines, especially during the past ASEAN conference, where you have made very clear that the claims that are being made upon on Philippine maritime territory are not valid and have not been recognized… or inconsistent with international laws,” the Chief Executive conveyed.

“To have friends like you and partners like you in that subject is very gratifying and encourages us to continue down that path,” he added.

To this end, Prime Minister Albanese reiterated Australia’s continued support to the Philippines, expressing further its commitment to take the Australia-Philippines relations into a higher level of strategic partnership, which will strengthen the bilateral ties of the two nations for the past seven (7) decades.

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