Bongbong Marcos to attend APEC Summit in Thailand

President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. speaks during a news conference at his headquarters in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

MANILA, Philippines — Incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Thailand in November, his camp announced Wednesday.

Marcos was personally invited by Thai Chargé d’ Affaires Thawat Sumitmor to the APEC Summit during the latter’s courtesy call on the incoming president earlier this week. APEC Summit 2022 will happen on November 18 and 19.

The APEC Summit, which was established in 1989, seeks to promote sustainable economic growth, trade, and investment, in the Asia-Pacific region.

Thailand, which will host this year’s APEC Summit, intends to hold the annual event in person—the first time since 2018.

In 2019, the in-person summit was cancelled due to protests in the host country, Chile, while in 2020 and 2021, the summit was conducted virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the APEC website, this year’s event will “focus on restoring connectivity by resuming safe and seamless cross-border travel, reinvigorating tourism and the services sector, facilitating business mobility as well as increasing investment in health security.”

The theme for APEC Summit 2022 is “Open. Connect. Balance.”

READ: Palace assures Duterte’s online attendance at APEC Summit on November 12

Visit from ASEAN Ambassadors

During the visit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ambassadors last June 6, Marcos said he was glad to meet them in person as a group as he noted that ASEAN has become “a very important regional organization.”

Marcos also said that ASEAN will play a vital role in the region’s economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those present were Sumitmor, Brunei Darussalam Ambassador to the Philippines Johariah Wahab, Cambodia’s Phan Peuv, and Indonesia’s Agus Widjojo.

Also present were Singapore Ambassador Gerard Ho, and Vietnam Ambassador Hoang Huy Chung, and Lao People’s Democratic Republic Ambassador Songkane Luangmuninthone.

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