President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. arrived in New Delhi, India on Saturday (Manila time) to champion the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) priorities on peace and security, inclusive growth, and regional resilience at the 18th BRICS Summit.
The airplane carrying the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and several Cabinet secretaries landed at about 2:20 a.m. Saturday (11:50 p.m. Friday, New Delhi time) at the Palam Air Force Station in New Delhi, the Presidential Communications Office said.
Marcos, as this year’s ASEAN chair, will represent the regional bloc at the BRICS Summit.
The Philippines was also invited as an “outreach country,” a non-member nation allowed to participate in the summit discussions and dialogues.
With the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” this year’s summit marks the 20th anniversary of BRICS since its establishment in 2006.
Marcos will join other world leaders expected to attend, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Other ASEAN leaders expected to attend are Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, whose country is a full member of BRICS, as well as Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, whose countries are BRICS partners.
Marcos will attend the summit’s Open Session on Sept. 13, where he is expected to present the priorities and gains of the Philippines’ ASEAN chairship and discuss pressing issues affecting developing countries and emerging economies.
On the sidelines of the summit, Marcos will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further strengthen Philippine-Indian ties.
The bilateral meeting will focus on defense, trade, health, digital cooperation, tourism, connectivity, and people-to-people ties.
Marcos will also hold a series of business meetings with Indian companies and business leaders to explore potential investments and expansion opportunities in the Philippines in such sectors as infrastructure, digitalization, information technology, pharmaceuticals, transportation, and logistics. (PNA)
