President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and his delegation arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday for the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

The Chief Executive is accompanied by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, his Cabinet secretaries and senior officials, including Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez and Undersecretary Claire Castro, Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

They were welcomed by Dato’ Sri Azalina binti Othman Said, Minister in the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform); Datuk Rozainor bin Ramli, Malaysian Government’s Chief of Ceremony; Dato’ Yubazlan Yusof, Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Maria Angela Ponce.

On top of championing peace and stability, pushing for closer economic cooperation within the region is also on the President’s agenda.

“As always, our participation in the ASEAN Summit reaffirms our dedication to deepening regional cooperation and to advancing the well-being of every Filipino and the entire Southeast Asian community,” Marcos said in his departure message at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

“The strength of ASEAN depends in the individual strength and prosperity of its members. Thus, we are strengthening our bureaucracy, making it more responsive, accountable, and transparent in serving Filipino people,” he added.

In an interview with Radio Television Malacañang, Ponce said Marcos is expected to have a “very full and substantive agenda” at the high-level gathering, where he would continue to promote and advocate for Philippine interests within the region.

Among the highlights of the summit is the President’s signing of the Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN as its 11th member.

He will also witness the signing of the Second Protocol to Amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade.

On the economic front, Marcos will attend the 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Leaders’ Summit and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines.

“You know, the ASEAN Summit is an opportunity to have many leaders all together at once. And so to maximize the presence of the President here, as well as of having his counterparts here, he will be having quite a number of bilateral meetings as well,” Ponce said.

Marcos will accept the ASEAN 2026 chairmanship during a turnover ceremony by Malaysia at the summit conclusion on Oct.28. (PNA)