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Philippines to host ASEAN Summit in 2026: Marcos Jr.

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Alfred Frias, NIB-PNA/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/09/04/20230904-marcos-asean-mtg-departure-pna0-s.jpg"/><figcaption>President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leaves for Jakarta, Indonesia on Sepember 4, 2023 to participate in the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits from Sept. 5 to 7, 2023. Alfred Frias, NIB-PNA/file</figcaption></figure></div>JAKARTA — The Philippines will host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in 2026, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, during the regional bloc’s plenary session in Indonesia.The Philippines was originally scheduled to host the ASEAN Summit in 2027, during the bloc’s 60th founding anniversary, but Myanmar formally expressed that it would forego the chairmanship in 2026.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/04/23/marcos-jr-flies-to-indonesia-for-asean-summit">Marcos Jr. departs for Jakarta, Indonesia to attend the ASEAN Summit</a></li></ul>“It is my pleasure to announce that the Philippines is ready to take the helm and chair ASEAN in 2026,” Marcos Jr. told other Southeast Asian leaders.“We will fortify the foundations of our community-building and navigate ASEAN as it embarks on a new chapter,” he said.“We will count on the support of fellow member-states and continue to work with our partners to strengthen ASEAN centrality, and to promote peace, security, stability, and prosperity in the region,” he added.The Philippines last hosted the regional summit in 2017 in Manila during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.<div>‘OPEN, FREE, FAIR’ TRADING SYSTEM</div>Marcos Jr. said the Philippines “will always continue to strive to maintain ASEAN as a competitive and integrated regional economy” through “facilitating a rules-based multilateral trading system that is open, free, and fair.”“Our strength as a regional organization is nowhere more pronounced than when we effectively deliver and follow-through on our commitments,” the Filipino leader said.“To further expand mutual trade, we should continue efforts at enhancing ASEAN connectivity and supply chains,” he said.The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership — a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific nations — “will not only widen our options to increase production and ultimately strengthen supply-chain resiliency, but also provide a new space for our economies to participate in the global value chain,” Marcos Jr. said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/09/23/marcos-departs-for-indonesia-for-42nd-asean-summit">After visits to US, UK, Marcos departs for Indonesia for 42nd ASEAN Summit</a></li></ul>While ASEAN has a projected growth rate of 4.9 percent in 2024 and is “poised to improve its macroeconomic fundamentals in the face of a prolonged geopolitical and socio-economic challenge that impacts our region and the world,” progress in the region “only matters when it is inclusive,” he said.“The interoperability of our systems, in terms of digital trade, digital payments, and the like, should foster a vibrant digital economy that is interconnected as it is secure,” he said.“Let us bolster support for the increased participation of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and start-ups in the digital and creative economies,” he said.“Creativity and innovation are the way to the future. Let us strengthen collaboration and align our policies, including establishing a regional scope of the creative economy, closing financing gaps, and managing digital readiness capacities,” he added.The Philippine President also underscored the importance of “improving access to safe and secure digital learning opportunities, fostering digital literacy, and developing transferable skills in ASEAN.”“We must continue to prepare our people, especially the marginalized and the vulnerable, such as the women and the persons with disabilities in business, for the digital future,” he said.“The citizens of ASEAN should reskill and upskill to maintain their leading roles in our economies,” he said.“Let us ensure that our digital infrastructure enables broad and uninterrupted access, as the provision of our public services has shifted to digital platforms.”<div>MIGRANT WORKERS PROTECTION</div> The region should also be “ready to assist those who have toiled to contribute significantly to our economies: as our migrant workers,” said the President, whose country has been buoyed by overseas remittances for several years.“Our policies to protect migrant workers should provide assistance across all stages of crisis preparedness, response, and recovery,” he said, noting that the Philippines “stands ready to lead and support efforts to operationalize the ASEAN Guidelines on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Family Members in Crisis Situations.”“As the Voluntary Lead Shepherd for the cooperation against Trafficking in Persons, the Philippines will continue to call for more concerted efforts in intensifying regional and international cooperation, especially in mobilizing resources to prevent and combat the abuse of technology in TIP,” he said.<div>‘CLIMATE CHANGE IS MOST URGEST THREAT TO PROGRESS’</div>Meantime, Marcos Jr. described climate change as the “most urgent threat to our progress”, and urged other ASEAN nations to “call on developed countries to heighten the implementation of their commitments” to decrease emissions that worsen the effects of climate change.“Their commitments that include climate finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity building, in order to drive ASEAN’s capabilities to prevent, mitigate, manage, and adapt to the impacts of climate change,” he said.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2790823" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>“As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, the Philippines will continue to prioritize international cooperation that will make ASEAN climate-smart and disaster-ready, including through the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity,” he added.Marcos Jr. also advocated for food security, saying that the regional bloc “must build on cooperation that will harness the transformative potential of our agricultural sector to ensure that food production is responsible and will be of benefit for future generations.”As of 2020, the regional bloc houses 8.5 percent of the world’s population, and contributes 3.5 percent to the world’s economy, according to data from the ASEAN’s website.Marcos Jr. made no mention of tensions in the South China Sea during his intervention at the plenary session, but ASEAN leaders are expected to meet with Chinese officials on September 6.China — whose illegal activities in parts of the West Philippine Sea refuel tensions in the strategic waterway — will also attend 2 other meetings during the 3-day conference, namely the ASEAN Plus 3 Summit and the ASEAN-East Asia Summit.

he Philippines will host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in 2026, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.

Philippines to host ASEAN Summit in 2026: Marcos Jr.

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Philippines to host ASEAN Summit in 2026: Marcos Jr.

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 05, 2023 04:11 PM PHT

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ASEAN 2023

ASEAN Summit 2026

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr

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