President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is set to fly to New York City this Sunday to attend the 77th United Nations General Assembly Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Kira Danganan-Azucena confirmed.
According to Danganan-Azucena, Marcos will deliver the national statement of the Philippines in the high-level general debate centered around the administration’s priorities focused on climate change, rule of law, and food security this September 20.
She also added that the President’s attendance in the General Assembly is of great importance since it marks his first engagement with the United Nations, which the country recognizes as its most important multilateral organization.
She described that the high-level general debate will be an important political event since it serves as a major platform for world leaders to present their “policy statements on world affairs and international relations.”
“The theme of this year’s general debate is, ‘A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.’ We can expect the President’s statement to identify these challenges and the solutions to address them, the role of the United Nations, and how the Philippines intends to contribute to these efforts,” Danganan-Azucena said.
In the event, which will be held in person for the first time since 2020, a total of 153 heads of states will participate.
The President also considers it as an opportunity to meet with other heads of state and officials of the United Nations.
On the other hand, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga said that Marcos is highly focused on economic recovery, especially now that policies restricting the Philippine economy are starting to be lifted.
He mentioned that the New York trip is more than an international debut for Marcos.
“He gave unequivocal instructions that his meetings, whether with fellow world leaders or with US corporations, should focus on finding the necessary partnerships or synergies that will benefit the Philippine economy and the Filipino people.”
According to him, the President is eying the event to hopefully strengthen the trade and investment relations of the Philippines and United States.
“This briefing will be an opportunity to outline the key economic priorities of his administration with the special focus on how we can hopefully expand and strengthen Philippine-US trade and investment relations during his term,” Chan-Gonzaga said.
Marcos also plans to meet the Filipino community in NYC after his business with the UN and other international leaders.
Photo credit: Facebook/BongbongMarcos
