President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday told Indonesian President Joko Widodo that the partnership between the Philippines and Indonesia is crucial to fostering economic stability in the post-pandemic future.

Marcos made this remark in a speech after his bilateral meeting with Widodo and Philippine and Indonesian government officials at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java.

“I express my belief to President Widodo that this partnership between Indonesia and the Philippines — but these partnerships that we make with all our partners and allies and friends around the world will be of critical importance so that we remain stable as we grow out of the pandemic economy. And we work together and help each other to develop regional peace and regional development,” Marcos said.

During their meeting, they discussed challenges being faced by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) amid the prevailing pandemic and the importance of trade in supporting post-pandemic recovery.

Marcos emphasized that Asean will be the “lead agent” in bringing peace during the current volatile time in geopolitics and the input and assistance from Indonesia will be a very important part of this effort.

As part of efforts to bolster the Philippines-Indonesia ties, Marcos said the two countries agreed to create task forces that will regularly meet on a technical level.

“We continue to work on growing our relationship to making it stronger. So much so that, 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.

He also thanked Indonesia for its assistance and involvement in the infrastructure programs of the Duterte administration., and their commitment to continue to increase cooperation between the two countries.

‘The Philippines’ kin’

Meanwhile, Marcos also thanked the Indonesian government and people for their warm welcome, describing them as not only the Philippines’ neighbors or friends but “kin.”

“I believe that we have made the proper choice in coming to Jakarta as my first state visit as president of the Philippines and I believe that this is only the beginning of many more things to come between Indonesia and the Philippines,” he said.

In a separate speech before their meeting, Marcos said his decision to choose Indonesia as the first country to visit is significant due to their closeness in geographical location and culture.

“One of those is that we are close in terms of not only geographical location, but we are close in terms of culture, we are close in terms of ethnicity. And I think that it is going to be the strong partnerships that we will make as we slowly come out of the pandemic economy is what is going to lead us to success,” he said.

Marcos said he believes he made the “right choice” by visiting Indonesia first due to the government’s willingness to further strengthen their relationship.

“Although it is the first time I have been to Jakarta, we look around and it feels like home. Only because you are so warm, you have welcomed us so warmly and we have felt the willingness of Indonesia to go into partnership with the Philippines and to strengthen the partnership,” he said.

Pacts signed

During the event, the two countries also signed four agreements:

*Plan of Action between the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of the Philippines from 2022 to 2027.

*Memorandum of Understanding between the government of the Republic of Indonesia and the government of the Republic of Philippines on Cultural Cooperation

*Agreement on Cooperative Activities in the Field of Defense and Security between the government of the Republic of Indonesia and the government of the Republic of Philippines

*Memorandum of Understanding for the cooperation in the development and promotion of the creative economy between the government of the Republic of Indonesia and the government of the Republic of Philippines.

Marcos is currently in Indonesia for a three-day state visit. Prior to meeting Widodo, he met with the Filipino community in Jakarta.

Upon his arrival at the Bogor Presidential Palace, Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos signed the official guestbook.

Widodo introduced government ministers present at the Palace to welcome Marcos. The officials comprised Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD, Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of State Secretariat Pratikno, and Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno, according to Indonesia’s news agency, Antara.

Ambassador of Indonesia to the Philippines Agus Widjojo and Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Director General of Asia-Pacific and African Affairs Abdul Kadir Jailani were also present to welcome the Philippine head of state.

They also had a tête-à-tête with the Indonesian President and First Lady followed by a ceremonial tree-planting activity and veranda talk.

Diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Indonesia were officially established on Nov. 24, 1949, with the opening of the Philippine Consulate on Jalan Imam Bonjol, Jakarta. (PNA)