President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. forged at least three memoranda of understanding (MoU) and one letter of intent (LoI) with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on Tuesday at the start of his two-day visit to Brunei.

Among the signed pacts is one that would boost tourism cooperation between the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam. The Philippines and Brunei also renewed their MoU on food security and agricultural cooperation.

In a meeting with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Marcos underscored the Philippines’ and Brunei’s continuing “active and close engagements in all areas of their bilateral cooperation.”

The two countries agreed to engage in more joint activities on tourism, food security, and agriculture, as well as maritime activities and seafaring.

“And for that, we hope to expand the partnerships that we have begun and we feel that there is much potential that we can examine,” Marcos said.

“I think the MoUs that are being signed today that we shall witness, Your Majesty, will be a very good start to once again re-energize, and I think the areas that we have talked about — that we have paid attention to for these MoUs are certainly rich with potential,” he added.

The two countries’ tourism departments agreed to generate cooperative tourism projects and to send tourists across their borders. They also agreed to support niche tourism development, particularly in the area of Islamic tourism and the promotion of Muslim-friendly destinations.

Further, both sought to enhance their mutual recognition of Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) certificates and further improve maritime cooperation activities.

Updated maritime deal

The STCW certificates allow the national agencies of the Philippines and Brunei to recognize the national certificates issued by both focal agencies.

The deal also replaces and updates a prior MoU between the Philippines and Brunei signed in 2001.

Under the Maritime Cooperation MoU, the Philippines and Brunei agreed to further collaborate on addressing pollution, as well as boosting both countries’ skills training, research, and information sharing as maritime nations.

Marcos hoped the partnership between the Philippines and Brunei would surpass the signed MoUs and LOI.

Bolkiah, for his part, said the economic ties and people-to-people exchanges between the Philippines and Brunei must be strengthened further to ensure that both countries mutually benefit.

“I’m looking forward to further enhancing our friendship in areas of future interest, which I believe will greatly benefit our countries and people,” Bolkiah said, noting that the newly signed agreements with Marcos would “foster deeper cooperation and understanding between the Filipinos and Bruneians.”

Marcos is visiting Brunei Darussalam upon the invitation of the Sultan.

The Philippines and Brunei are commemorating their more than 40 years of diplomatic relations which was formalized on 1 January 1984.

“The landscape of our region and of the world is changing in fundamental ways. The challenges brought by climate change, environmental degradation, and geopolitical tensions find it necessary for nation-states to cooperate more closely and more effectively,” Marcos said.

“I am therefore honored to discuss the state of our countries’ relations, as well as exchange views on regional and international developments with the world’s longest-reigning current monarch and the longest-serving current head of state,” Marcos added.

He also expressed gratitude for Brunei’s assistance to the Philippines, particularly during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic when it donated test kits and vaccines.

Marcos also thanked Brunei for the support given to the victims of super typhoon “Yolanda” and typhoon “Odette.”

The President further appreciated Brunei’s help during the oil crises of the 1970s.