malaysiangMANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will hold a bilateral meeting with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam who will arrive in the Philippines on Thursday for a three-day state visit, Malacañang announced Wednesday.
‘President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos will welcome Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse, Mrs. Jane Yumiko Ittogi, as they embark on a three-day state visit to the Philippines starting tomorrow, Aug. 15,’ Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.
Garafil said Marcos and Shanmugaratnam are also expected to witness the signing of memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on the recruitment of Filipino healthcare workers and collaboration on climate financing.
This will be the second time Marcos will meet with Shanmugaratnam.The first bilateral meeting between the two was held at the Istana in Singapore on May 31 this year.
During their first meeting, Marcos invited Shanmugaratnam and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence
Wong to the Philippines.
This will be the first time for Shanmugaratnam to visit the Philippines in his official capacity as Singapore’s new head of state.
The last Singaporean leader to visit the Philippines was Halimah Yacob in 2019.
Garafil said Marcos would relay to Shanmugaratnam the Philippine government’s renewed commitment to strengthening collaboration with Singapore.
‘The two countries will continue to undertake cooperation, in both bilateral and multilateral milieus, including in the fields of energy and healthcare, among others,’ she said.
The Philippines and Singapore formally established their diplomatic relations on May 16, 1969.
Source: Philippines News Agency
