THE post-pandemic economic recovery and transformation will be among the foreign policy priorities of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and related summits.

In a press briefing on Friday, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Daniel Espiritu said at the top of the list of the President’s foreign policy priorities when it comes to ASEAN is bringing the country to the recovery path and economic transformation post-pandemic.

“So that would cover food security, energy security, digital transformation and the digital economy and also climate change in as much as this is very much related to our disaster management efforts in the Philippines,” Espiritu said.

The President will join his fellow leaders at the ASEAN Summits and related summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, next week.

Bilateral meetings

On the sidelines of his participation at the ASEAN Summit, the President is expected to meet with the Cambodian Prime Minister and the Korean President.

DFA Assistant Secretary Nathaniel Imperial said the bilateral meetings that will be conducted are still being finalized.

“But I think it would [be] safe to say that the first one would be with the host government, with Cambodia,” Imperial said.

He said Marcos is scheduled to meet with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen “as a matter of courtesy.”

The DFA also expects a bilateral meeting between the President and Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The Republic of Korea, according to Imperial, is a key partner of the Philippines economically in terms of defense and security as well as in terms of tourism.

He said the Philippines has a very multi-faceted relationship with the Republic of Korea.

“So it’s very important that they discuss current and pending issues between our two countries and the opportunities that we can pursue together with the Republic of Korea,” Imperial said.

The DFA official said among the topics that the two leaders would discuss is the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea.

“Korea is only the second country which we will be concluding a Free Trade Agreement after Japan. Aside from that, we have a very robust defense and security cooperation, as you well know,” he said.

Imperial said more than two bilateral meetings are being scheduled between the President and his counterpart leader.