The President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House for trade and security discussions.
“This visit builds on the active exchanges that we have had since the assumption of the new Trump administration,” Marcos said, listing meetings with the “Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. Secretary of State, the visit to Manila of the U.S. Secretary of Defense in March, and also of the Director of National Intelligence last month, as well as the visits of bipartisan U.S. Congressional Delegations.”
Marcos noted that his meeting with President Trump is “essential to continuing to advance our national interests and strengthening our alliance.” He believes the meeting will “reaffirm our commitment to fostering our long-standing alliances as an instrument of peace and a catalyst of development in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.”
“My top priority for this visit is to push for greater economic engagement, particularly through trade and investment between the Philippines and the United States,” he declared, emphasizing his intention to “convey to President Trump and his Cabinet officials that the Philippines is ready to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that will ensure strong, mutually beneficial and future-oriented collaborations that only the United States and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of.”
On Monday, Marcos met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where they “underscored the importance of the ironclad United States-Philippines Alliance to maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” said State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce. “They reaffirmed their shared commitment to deterrence and reinforcing freedoms of navigation and overflight in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
