President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday reaffirmed his commitment to advancing the Philippines’ bilateral relations with foreign partners such as the United States and the United Nations.

Marcos said he seized the opportunity to raise the Philippines’ intent to expand areas of cooperation with its partner countries during his participation in and on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In his arrival statement, Marcos noted that he met with his counterparts from the U.S., Japan, India, China, South Korea, the U.N., New Zealand and Australia during the summit.

“I highlighted the progress of our dialogue partnerships and how we envision the way forward together,” Marcos said in a video message.

On the sidelines of the summit, Marcos met with the leaders of Cambodia, Canada, Thailand, Japan, the European Union, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, as well as with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Marcos said they discussed ways to further strengthen partnerships and expand cooperation in strategic areas, including trade, defense, maritime security, and agriculture.

“We reaffirmed our commitment to deepen bilateral relations and discussed cooperation on many fields of mutual interest, fields such as security and defense, maritime, climate action, trade, investment, agriculture, and people-to-people relations,” he said.

Marcos also expressed gratitude for the support extended to the Philippines in its ASEAN chairship in 2026. (PNA)