President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. departed the Philippines for Saudi Arabia on Thursday morning to mainly discuss with Gulf leaders how to further protect Filipino workers in the Middle East as he attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations–Gulf Cooperation Council, or ASEAN-GCC, Summit.

Apart from discussing migrant issues, the Department of Foreign Affairs said earlier this week that talks on possible cooperation on various concerns will be among the topics that Marcos and other leaders will discuss at the summit in Riyadh.

Another topic for discussion would be how the Arabs could help Muslim Mindanao's Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

Other items on the President's agenda are one-on-one discussions with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and a gathering with the Filipino community before the start of the summit on Friday.

"This summit will serve as an important platform for the Philippines to highlight the need for cooperation in energy and food security, logistics and supply chains, digital transformation, the free flow of goods, people, and services, and the enhancement and protection of the rights of overseas workers," Marcos said in his departure speech at Villamor Airbase.

"We will emphasize our advocacy for a rules-based international order to maintain peace, security, and stability in our regions," Marcos, whose visit to the Middle East comes amid the Israel-Hamas war, added.
Philippine Airlines flight PR001 carrying the President and his party, departed Villamor Airbase after 7:30 a.m. Thursday. It was expected to land in Riyadh in nine hours and 45 minutes.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, with its headquarters in Riyadh, consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

ASEAN, on the other hand, is composed of 10 member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.