President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippine government is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on tourism cooperation and talk about other deals with Brunei Darussalam.

The Chief Executive said this as Marcos departed from Manila past 8:00 a.m. and landed in Brunei a few minutes after 10:00 a.m. on Monday for a two-day state visit.

In his departure speech, the President underscored how important tourism is to the Philippine economy and how it employs millions of people.

“We hope to entice and attract Bruneian tourists to explore the Philippines,” Marcos said of the MOU.

Marcos will meet with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah at his official home, the Istana Nurul Iman, on his first day in Brunei. He will also meet with people from the Filipino community.

About 25,000 Filipinos live in Brunei, a mostly Muslim country with a lot of oil and gas.

Additionally, Marcos said the Philippines and Brunei will talk about other important areas of cooperation, like investments and security.

Before going to Bandar Seri Begawan, the President would meet with Brunei's top business leaders to talk about trade and investment deals between the two countries.

“I will engage business communities in the Sultanate and highlight the Philippines as one of the fastest growing economies of Asia,” Marcos said.

“I look forward to securing investment that will generate more jobs, contribute to poverty alleviation, and accelerate the economic transformation of our country,” he added.

The President will fly right to Singapore from Brunei on 29 May to talk at the Shangri-La Dialogue, recognized as Asia's top defense summit, which the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) organized.

The Philippine president will be speaking at the gathering for the first time.