Marcos invites Putin to finally visit Manila
President Marcos has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Manila this November for what would be his first visit to the Philippines.
Mr. Marcos, the current Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) chair, extended the invitation on Thursday during his bilateral meeting with Putin in Kazan on the sidelines of the commemorative summit between the 11-member bloc and Russia.
Neither Malacañang nor the Kremlin spoke about Putin’s response, although the Russian leader was seen nodding his head while talking to the President.
Putin has yet to visit the Philippines despite numerous invites from then President Rodrigo Duterte who called him his “idol” and “personal friend.”
So far, the Russian leader has attended the EAS only once, in 2018 in Singapore, which coincided with the 33rd Asean Summit and 3rd Asean-Russia Summit.
EAS is the premier regional forum for strategic dialogue and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, which brings together Asean member-nations and eight of its dialogue partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
During their bilateral meeting, Mr. Marcos and Putin agreed to expand trade cooperation, especially in agriculture and energy, as their countries mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year.
Last year, bilateral trade between the Philippines and Russia exceeded $500 million.
Potential areas
“Of course, this is far from the limit. And of course, there is a good potential to enhance supplies of agriculture and energy resources,” Putin told Mr. Marcos, who agreed with him.
“There are many potential areas that are still open to exploring,” the President said. “I think that the present level of trade, although it is steady, I think that there is a great deal more that we can do.”
Beyond trade, Mr. Marcos said the Philippines hopes to continue regular political consultations with Russia as these “provide a very important opportunity to explore further ways of cooperation.”
At the same time, he also pushed for deeper cooperation in peace, maritime security and economic development between Asean and Russia during the commemorative summit.
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