President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. —PPA POOL
BERLIN, Germany – President Marcos arrived here on Monday night (Tuesday morning in Manila) for a two-day working visit upon the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Marcos and First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos arrived at the Brandenburg International Airport at 9:49 p.m. local time (4:49 a.m. Tuesday in Manila) via Philippine Airlines PR 001.
He is the first Philippine President to visit Germany in 10 years. The last Chief Executive to visit Germany was then President Benigno Aquino III in 2014.
On Tuesday morning, Mr. Marcos will meet with Scholz at the Chancellery (Bundeskanzleramt).
In the afternoon, the President will grace several business meetings and the German-Philippine Business Forum before meeting with the Filipino community in Berlin in the evening.
Marcos will witness the signing of government-to-government agreements in Berlin – a joint declaration of intent on strengthening maritime cooperation and a cooperation program between the Technical Educational and Skills Development Authority and the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training.
He will then travel to Prague to meet with the Czech Republic’s constitutional heads of government: President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Senate President Miloš Vystrčil and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová on Thursday.
On Friday, the last day of his state visit to the Czech Republic, Marcos will have similar meetings with Czech business leaders at the Philippine-Czech Business Forum and with the Filipino community in Prague.
There, he will witness the signing of a joint communique on establishing a labor consultation mechanism to elevate cooperation with the Czech Republic on the safe and orderly migration and higher protection of overseas Filipino workers there.
Marcos will fly home to the Philippines on Friday evening.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced last March 8 that Marcos is set to sign a maritime agreement with Germany during his visit through a joint declaration of intent, which will facilitate maritime trade and mobility of Philippine and German-owned vessels.
READ: PH set to sign maritime agreement with Germany — DFA
“In Germany, in terms of government to government agreements, there will be a joint declaration of intent (JDI) on strengthening cooperation in maritime sector, which will be signed by both country’s transportation agencies,” said DFA Office of European Affairs Asec. Maria Elena Algabre in a Palace briefing.
READ: Marcos to tackle trade, labor, energy, climate change in Germany visit
According to Philippine Ambassador to Germany Irene Susan Natividad, the bilateral relation between the two countries is grounded on “mutual or shared interests and values” and will be discussed more during Marcos’ visit. — Barbara Gutierrez, INQUIRER.net intern