THE Philippines and Malaysia are set to conduct a Joint Commission Meeting later this year for the signing of several agreements on cooperation on transnational crimes, halal industry and Islamic banking among others.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim made the announcement at their joint press briefing Wednesday afternoon, the second day of Marcos’s visit to the Asean neighbor.
“In the spirit of exploring synergies for future partnerships, we agreed to convene the next Philippines-Malaysia Joint Commission Meeting in the near future. I believe the date that we decided upon was around sometime in October,” Marcos said.
The agreements will cover areas of transnational crime, agriculture, halal industry, Islamic banking, education, tourism and culture, sports, and the digital economy.
“We continue to work on the corresponding MOUs [memorandum of understanding] in these fields and have them signed—we’ll have them signed in the near future,” Marcos said.
He also said they are coordinating with Malaysia for the building of capacity of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), especially for the Halal industry and Islamic banking.
“Malaysia has warmly offered their expertise to train Philippine personnel and officials to strengthen our capabilities in these increasingly important sectors,” the chief executive said.
Flexible engagement
FOR his part, Ibrahim said he and the President discussed “strengthening” of the five-point consensus of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Myanmar.
The consensus aims to prevent further bloodshed in Myanmar amid its ongoing civil war after its military ousted the civilian government in 2021.
Both Ibrahim and Marcos agreed that Myanmar should be given the “flexibility” to engage with its neighboring countries on an informal basis without sacrificing the issues on human rights and the treatment of minorities, in particular Rohingya people.
“We also agreed that we can explore not only along multilateral lines, all of the issues that are facing us in the region, but also that there is use as well, there is utility as well in us promoting a bilateral relationship, especially between Malaysia and the Philippines and our other partners in Asean,” Marcos said. The chief executive thanked Ibrahim, Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah and Queen Azizah, as well as the Malaysian people for the warm welcome they gave him and other members of the Philippine delegation.
“This state visit not only attests to the importance we place on Malaysia as a neighbor and as a partner in Asean, but also reaffirms the Philippines’s commitment to further cultivating our bonds and friendship especially as we look forward to celebrating our 60th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations with Malaysia next year,” Marcos said. The President started his visit by meeting with the Filipinos in Malaysia on Tuesday, a day after delivering his second State of the Nation Address.
He is scheduled to conclude his three-day stay in Malaysia on Thursday after meeting with Malaysian businessmen.
Good relations
The strengthening of ties between the Philippines and Malaysia, according to Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, will do much to support the two nations’ long-standing good relations as well as their economic and trade alliances.
Romualdez is among the Philippine officials who accompanied President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos to the Istana Negara (Malaysia’s National Palace), where the Chief Executive was accorded a State Welcome Ceremony, including a 21-gun salute, upon his arrival.
Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah and Queen Azizah, along with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, welcomed President Marcos and his party on the second day of the Chief Executive’s three-day state visit to Kuala Lumpur.
“The warm welcome accorded to President Marcos by King Abdullah and Prime Minister Anwar augurs well for the expansion of economic and trade partnerships, as well as further strengthening our friendly relations with our fellow ASEAN partner Malaysia,” Romualdez said.
During his meeting with the top Malaysian leaders, Marcos said he believes the two countries must work together on mutually beneficial initiatives and explore ways to help each other deal with emerging challenges in the post-pandemic future.
Speaking at the state banquet tendered in honour of Marcos, King Abdullah noted that the Philippines is an important partner for Malaysia, noting its close proximity and active involvement in ASEAN.
Romualdez said the President’s state visit to Malaysia would focus on renewed partnerships in the fields of agriculture and food security, the digital economy, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, and explore new avenues for cooperation, particularly in areas of the Halal Industry and Islamic banking.
“On the part of the House of Representatives, we are open to considering possible measures that would help enhance the partnership that would redound to the mutual benefit of the peoples of the Philippines and Malaysia,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez cited, among others, House Bill 7118, which seeks to amend Republic Act No. 9997, otherwise known as the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Act of 2009, seeking to promote local Halal enterprises and product development.
According to Romualdez, the state visit of President Marcos has laid a clear roadmap for an enhanced partnership between the Philippines and Malaysia.
He noted that in the joint press conference of Pres. Marcos and Prime Minister Anwar announced their agreement to convene the next Philippine-Malaysia Joint Commission in October.
This would provide the respective government agencies of both countries with an avenue to discuss priority cooperation in detail and pave the way for the signing of the necessary Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Marcos said he and PM Anwar committed to closely coordinating efforts to build capacity, especially in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, particularly in the areas of Halal Industry, Islamic banking, and food security.
On Thursday, President Marcos and his delegation are scheduled to hold separate meetings with Malaysian business leaders.
Pacts on economy, vs. crime on Manila -Kuala Lumpur radar
Source: News Paper Radio
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