MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will fly to Tokyo on Friday, December 15, to attend a commemorative summit for the 50th year of friendship and cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Daniel Espiritu said on Monday, December 11, that the following will be part of the agenda in the main event on Sunday, December 17: 

• discussions on numerous international developments which involve the regional bloc, such as issues on South China Sea, East China Sea, North Korea, and Myanmar
• working lunch to discuss people-to-people activities related to arts, culture, and sports
• summit-level discussion on ASEAN-Japan economic ties, particularly on trade and investment, supply chain, connectivity and infrastructure, climate change; and food and energy security.

Marcos may also hold a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and attend a dinner hosted by the Japanese leader on Saturday, December 16.

Espiritu said that on December 18, Marcos will take part in a discussion on decarbonization, organized by the Asia Zero Emissions Community. 

“This is important for us because as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, we are committed to the outcome of the COP28 meeting and this will also be an opportunity for us to request support for our bid to host the board of the loss and damage fund,” he added.

The President will be in Japan until December 18.

This will be his 11th international trip for the year, and 17th since taking office in mid-2022. – Rappler.com