Looking on is Singapore’s president Halimah Yacob and Philippine First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos. (Photo courtesy facebook page of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr)
(Eagle News) – Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., has secured several agreements in Singapore, including those on business, data privacy, and water collaboration, at the conclusion of the second leg of his inaugural state visit.
The President had separate bilateral meetings with Singapore President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, September 7.
After the bilateral meetings, the President and Prime Minister Lee witnessed the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two countries in various areas.
Among those inked were the memorandum of understanding between the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Ministry of Communications and Information of Singapore in the field of digital cooperation.
A Joint Communiqué between the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Ministry of Health of Singapore on the recruitment of Filipino healthcare workers was also signed.
There was also an exchange of four memoranda of understanding which include the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Personal Data Protection between the National Privacy Commission of the Philippines and the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore, and the memorandum of understanding between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Enterprise Singapore, which seeks to enhance collaboration on business opportunities on the development of New Clark City.
A memorandum of understanding between the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the Public Utilities Board of Singapore on water collaboration was also signed.
There were also arrangements between the Singapore Armed Forces and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) concerning the assignment of a team to the Regional Counterterrorism Information Facility in Singapore
President Marcos Jr said that his state visit in Singapore further deepened the bilateral relations of the Philippines with Singapore, considered the country’s largest trading partner in the ASEAN region.
He also thanked the officials and leaders of Singapore for the warm welcome given to him and the Philippine delegation.
“We thank President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for welcoming us and deepening a friendship that has withstood a global pandemic.
Our administration will ensure that the commitments made in areas such as security, digital cooperation, personal data protection, water management, and economic development result in tangible benefits for both of our nation’s people,” he said.
“And we hope that this visit will not only reaffirm the long relationships that Singapore and the Philippines have. Our formal ties began in 1969. Our informal ties I think have gone back more than much, much longer than that,” the Philippine leader said.
During Marcos Jr’s state visit in Singapore, a new orchid hybrid was named after him and his wife, First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos.
The orchid hybrid, “Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos” was described as having a “very unique” color –white petals with bluish mauve, and petals adorned with lavender striations.
“I can say that I have been lucky to be a recipient of many honors of different sorts around the world. But never have I had a beautiful, such a beautiful orchid named after myself and the First Lady, thank you very much,” the President said of the honor.
(Eagle News Service)