President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. raised the welfare and protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) during a bilateral meeting with Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia.

Speaking to the Philippine media delegation on Tuesday, Marcos said the dialogue was part of a series of productive bilateral engagements with fellow ASEAN and regional leaders.

“Those bilateral contacts are very, very important. And we have, of course, continued to encourage that,” Marcos said.

He emphasized that the discussion with the Kuwaiti Crown Prince touched on the valuable role of Filipino workers in the Gulf nation’s development.

“And we spoke now with Kuwait about the interaction between the Philippines and Kuwait and how they would like to – how grateful they are for the contribution that our OFWs have done to the development of their country and they have been very kind to us,” he added.

In a social media post following the meeting, Marcos echoed the significance of the talks.

“Isinulong natin ang kapakanan ng ating overseas Filipino workers sa naging pag-uusap ko kay Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah ng Kuwait (We advanced the welfare of our overseas Filipino workers during my discussion with Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah of Kuwait),” he said.

He added that they also discussed strengthening economic relations and labor cooperation between the two nations.

The meeting comes amid continuing efforts by the Philippine government to improve the conditions of Filipino workers abroad, particularly in the Middle East, where many OFWs are employed in domestic and service industries.

The deployment of first-time domestic workers to Kuwait is currently prohibited amid reported deaths of some Filipino workers there.

Aside from Kuwait, Marcos also had bilateral talks with Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. (PNA)