Thank you, ES Luc Bersamin.

[Please be seated]

Speaker Martin Romualdez; members of the Cabinet, those accompanying and those who are holding the fort here; Pasay District Representative Antonino Calixto; AFP Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner; Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gavan; and of course, the First Lady, First Lady Liza Araneta; my fellow workers government; ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Today, I fly to Melbourne to attend the Special Summit to commemorate the 50 years of ASEAN-Australia Relations at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

As the first ASEAN Leader’s level engagement for the year, the Summit presents an opportunity to reiterate the Philippines’ national positions on regional and international issues and set the tone for ASEAN’s Dialogue Partner Summits later in the year.

There will be two main engagements with the Leaders’ Plenary where we will take stock of ASEAN-Australia cooperation and propose ways forward to further bolster relations, and a Leaders’ Retreat where we will exchange candid views on key issues affecting our region and the world.

The Summit will be an opportunity for the Philippines to thank Australia, ASEAN’s oldest Dialogue Partner, for its unwavering support for the rule of law, for the 1982 UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award, through timely statements of support as well as through capacity-building and academic initiatives to mainstream appreciation of international law.

On the sidelines of the Summit, I will hold bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of Cambodia and New Zealand to further strengthen our cooperation.

I look forward to the opportunity to meet with the Filipino Community in Melbourne as well as to promote Philippine business through the Philippine Business Forum led by our DTI Secretary.

I also look forward to the launching of the expansion of the Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), Australia’s first, fully automated container terminal.

The VICT is a subsidiary of the International Container Terminal Services Inc., ICTSI and is a testament to ICTSI leadership as a leading Filipino company in the field of global port management.

While I’m in Melbourne, I will deliver a keynote speech to the Lowy Institute where I will highlight the Philippines’ role as an active participant in world affairs and a contributor to the rules-based regional security architecture.

This administration continues to ensure that our constructive engagements with ASEAN, our External Partners, and stakeholders, will best serve our national interest, in as much as we promote the region’s peace, stability, security, and prosperity, for the well-being of the Filipino and all our region.

Maraming salamat po. Thank you very much and good morning. [applause]

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