Four bilateral agreements between the Philippines and Indonesia were signed during President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s second day of his inaugural state visit on Monday, Sept. 5.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said signed agreements in the fields of defense, cultural cooperation, and economy were presented to Marcos and Indonesian President Joko Widodo after their bilateral meeting at the Presidential Palace in West Java, Indonesia.
The first deal signed was the plan of action between Indonesia and the Philippines from 2022 to 2027 and it was followed by a signed memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation.
According to Cruz-Angeles, the memorandum would enhance the “cultural and people-to-people exchanges” between the two countries and “promote a better understanding and appreciation of the countries’ remarkable cultures.”
The two deals were presented by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Indonesian Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi.
Also signed was an agreement on cooperative activities in the field of defense and security as presented by Defense Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. and Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto.
The said deal will enhance collaboration on defense strategies, further promote cooperative agreements, and activities and reinforce the Philippine military's modernization, Cruz-Angeles explained.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascua and Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno presented the memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the development and promotion of the creative economy.
In his speech on Monday, Marcos vowed to continue to work on growing the relationship between the Philippines and Indonesia to make it stronger.
As part of the effort to strengthen the ties, he said he had an agreement with Widodo to organize a technical-level task force.
“In fact, our discussions progressed so rapidly that we, the President and I, have agreed to organize task forces already to meet and discuss even at a technical level, no longer at the political or the diplomatic level, but at a technical level, so as to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities that we feel are available to us, and that we will need to exploit to succeed in the near future,” Marcos said.
