Marcos to meet Singapore leader

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and first lady Marie Louise «Liza» Araneta-Marcos will welcome Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse, Jane Yumiko Ittogi, in Malacañang on Thursday, August 15.

In an advisory released Wednesday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said that Malacañang will be the first stop in the Singaporean leaders' three-day state visit.

During their face-to-face meeting, Marcos is expected to reaffirm the Philippine government's 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,» the PCO said.

«Aside from the bilateral meeting, the two leaders are also expected to witness the signing of memoranda of understanding on the recruitment of Filipino healthcare workers and collaboration on climate financing during the state visit,» it added.

This will be the first visit of Shanmugaratnam to the Philippines in his official capacity as Singapore's new head of state. The last Singaporean leader who visited the country was Halimah Yacob in 2019.

The two leaders first met in Singapore last May when Marcos attended the Shangri-La Dialogues.

The diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Singapore were established on May 16, 1969. The two countries celebrated their 55th year of diplomatic ties this year.