President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday assured the United States of the Philippine’s continued support for all endeavors advancing the common interests in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“Please be assured of the Philippines’ continued support for projects advancing our common interest in the collective peace, stability, and prosperity of our region,” President Marcos said in his intervention during the 12th ASEAN-US Summit.
The President recognized the unwavering commitment and significant contributions of the US to ASEAN. He thanked the US for its reliable and active presence in the region “as a force for peace, stability, and security in the Indo-Pacific.”
President Marcos also emphasized that ASEAN member states “equally value the consistent support of the United States for ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture.”
“We welcome initiatives by the US to provide a platform and opportunities to exchange views on a diverse range of issues, including topics on emerging technologies, energy transition and climate change, and maritime security, including through the Institute for Rising Leaders (IRL) Fellowship,” President Marcos said.
“We encourage the continued implementation of the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-United States (U.S.) Strategic Partnership (2021-2025) and its Annex which covers all ASEAN Community Pillars, and we wish to congratulate our officials for the virtually complete implementation of that Plan,” he added.
President Marcos also expressed support for the adoption of the 2024-2025 ASEAN-US Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement and Expanded Economic Engagement Initiatives Work Plan and the adoption of the ASEAN-US Summit Leaders’ Statement on Promoting Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence.
On climate change and the environment, President Marcos said the Philippines welcomes the first ASEAN-US Ministerial Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change, along with the forthcoming support from the US to the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.
“On health cooperation, we certainly appreciate the U.S.’ continued support for a number of critical health areas. These include infection prevention and control, public health emergency management, regional laboratory diagnostics, and pharmaceutical regulation,” President Marcos said.
Before concluding his speech, the President mentioned that ASEAN also welcomes the launch of the ASEAN-US Center at the Arizona State University “to further institutionalize, widen and deepen the engagements” while bolstering support for economic and cultural engagements with the regional bloc.
The President said the ASEAN member states look forward to future initiatives such as the ASEAN Youth Volunteers Programme, the Fulbright ASEAN-US Visiting Scholar Programme, the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) and the ASEAN-US Institute for Rising Leaders Fellowship, among others. |PND
