SINGAPORE: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will make a state visit to Singapore from Tuesday (Sep 6) to Wednesday at the invitation of Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob.
Mr Marcos will be accompanied by his wife, First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, as well as Cabinet secretaries and senior officials, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Monday.
This is Mr Marcos’ first state visit to Singapore. The last Philippine president to visit Singapore was former president Rodrigo Duterte in 2016.
During their visit, the president and his wife will have a new orchid hybrid, the Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos, named in their honour.
They will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Istana and call on Mdm Halimah, who will host a state lunch in their honour.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will also call on and host the Philippine president to breakfast.
Mr Marcos and Mr Lee will jointly witness the exchange of bilateral agreements that will further strengthen cooperation in several areas, including counter-terrorism and data privacy, said MFA in a press statement.
Earlier today, Mr Marcos met with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo in Jakarta for a state visit focused on bolstering defence, trade and other ties between the two neighbours. This is Mr Marcos’ first overseas trip as president.
Mr Marcos, who is also known by his nickname Bongbong, won the presidential election in May and took office on Jun 30, succeeding Mr Duterte.
In her letter in May congratulating Mr Marcos Jr on his election win, Mdm Halimah also invited him to visit Singapore.
“Singapore and the Philippines share a warm and longstanding relationship, underpinned by strong economic cooperation and robust people-to-people ties,” she wrote in the letter dated May 14.
Mr Lee said in a separate letter then that Mr Marcos’ win showed the strong support from the Filipinos in his leadership and vision for the country.
The Prime Minister also acknowledged in his letter the “deep and longstanding” ties between Singapore and the Philippines in many domains including labour, trade and defence.
“I look forward to continuing our close cooperation for the benefit of our countries, peoples and the region,” he added.