PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has accepted the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Paris which is expected to take place before the end of June 2023, French Ambassador to the Philippines Michele Boccoz said Friday.

Boccoz said Marcos’ state visit is set within the first half of the year.

Paris and Manila are currently working on the trip’s deliverables, which could include agreements on creative industries, film co-production, and information and communications technology, among others.

On March 8, a high-level political consultation is scheduled to further discuss the areas of cooperation that would be tackled by the two leaders.

Boccoz said the priority areas are food security, energy, maritime security, climate change and biodiversity, including people-to-people ties.

France is also “very interested” in facilitating contacts between Filipino and French investors.

“There’s a lot of interest so we hope that we might have more concrete plans before the time of the visit,” she said.

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Cristina Lee-Pisco