PH-Brunei ties key to peaceful, stable Indo-Pacific – Marcos

STRENGTHENED TIES. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. extends his gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (seated) during a state banquet at the Istana Nurul Iman, Brunei’s Royal residence on Tuesday (May 28, 2024) evening. Marcos is in Brunei for a two-day state visit to strengthen the bilateral relations of the Philippines and Brunei. (PCO Photo)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said keeping and strengthening the Philippines’ bilateral relations with Brunei Darussalam would help maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Marcos said his first state visit to the Sultanate is important amid “many global challenges for which Brunei and the Philippines have very many common interests.”

“And so, it is important that we continue to work together on bilateral basis, also together with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), with BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area) in all of these methods by which we can plan together for our own communities, for the peace and the stability of the region,” he said in his remarks during the state banquet hosted by His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Tuesday evening.

“And not only for Asia but for the Indo-Pacific as well. It is important that those partnerships now be brought back into the modern world. And I look forward for this state visit to once more give an added impetus and warmth and inspiration to the relationship between our two countries.”

Also on Tuesday, Marcos and Sultan Bolkiah witnessed the signing of three memoranda of understanding and one letter of intent between the Philippines and Brunei, aimed at further strengthening the two countries’ bilateral ties on maritime cooperation and tourism, among others.

Marcos is in Brunei for a two-day state visit upon the invitation of the Sultan, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the bilateral relations between the neighboring nations.

The President thanked Sultan Bolkiah, the Royal Family, and the people of Brunei for extending to his delegation their hospitality as he celebrated the “birth of new time” for the two countries’ bilateral ties.