Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has announced that he will be visiting Japan in February, after accepting an invitation extended by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last September.
The tentative date for the visit is set for the second week of February, and it will center around discussions on economic security.
“We are now talking to the Japanese authorities, to Japanese foreign service as to when will be the most suitable time for me to come. I think the tentative date is around the second week of February,” said Marcos.
“The agenda will be a continued discussion of what we started in New York, which essentially centers around economic security. The Japanese have many concerns about regional security, and the Philippines is seen as an important part of maintaining that security in partnership with friends and partners like Japan and the other countries in the Indo-Pacific and Asia-Pacific regions,” he added.
Asked about the agenda of the visit, Marcos said it would center on economic security. Grants and aid may also be discussed as well.
Prior to his trip to Japan, President Marcos will attend an economic forum in Davos, Switzerland later this month. This marks the first official visit by a Philippine president to Japan in eight years. The two countries have a longstanding relationship, with Japan being one of the Philippines’ top trading partners and a major source of foreign investment. The visit is expected to further strengthen the already close ties between the two nations.
