MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday joined his fellow leaders at the opening ceremony of the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The President arrived with First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos at the Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel.
They were received by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The Chief Executive, accompanied by his Cabinet secretaries and government officials, is in Phnom Penh for the four-day ASEAN Summit where current political, security, economic, and sociocultural developments, as well as global issues affecting Southeast Asia and beyond, are expected to be discussed.

The President is also expected to participate in summits with ASEAN’s dialogue partners including Australia, Canada, China, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, and the United States, to review both existing and new areas of cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues.

President Marcos has described his first day in Cambodia as “productive.”

On his first day, the President invited Cambodian business leaders to come to the Philippines.

During a roundtable, he told the Cambodian businessmen that his administration was able to steer the economy in the right direction, citing economic figures for the 3rd quarter of this year. He also met with the King of Cambodia, His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, who granted a Royal Audience to the ASEAN leaders at the Royal Palace.

The President also had a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh where they agreed to further strengthen their partnership in various areas that include defense, trade, investment, agriculture, and maritime security.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister congratulated Marcos for the Philippine government's effective COVID-19 response and for achieving one of the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates in Asia.

During the ASEAN Leaders’ Interface with Youth, Marcos was cited for pro-youth advocacies during the intervention of Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu.

The President capped his day with a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen where they committed to expanding the extent of the two countries' productive partnership over the last 65 years and exploring partnerships in a wide range of areas, including digitalization, health services, logistics, and assisting small business.
The two leaders also agreed that "patience" is key to dealing with the deepening crisis in Myanmar. (PND-OPS)