President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Saturday said his recent trips to Brunei Darussalam and Singapore were ‘productive and engaging” as he committed to advancing the country’s economic and security agenda.

Marcos and his delegation arrived in Manila at 3:58 a.m. after participating in the 2024 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, where he discussed the Philippines' promotion of international law and rules-based order’  before representatives from at least 48 countries about the

“It is my inaugural State Visit to Brunei Darussalam, an ASEAN neighbor, and this is the first time that a Philippine leader will deliver the Keynote Speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Both visits were productive and engaging,” Marcos said in his arrival statement on Saturday. 

In his two-day state visit to Brunei, Marcos met with Sultan Haki Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah and discussed strengthening the 40-year-old bilateral ties between their countries.

“This year marks 40 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries and our conversation covered many facets of our relations, from defense and security, maritime cooperation, economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges,” he said.

“We aspired for stronger bilateral cooperation and to work together to ensure that peace and security reigns in the ASEAN region,” he continued. 

The Philippines and Brunei forged three memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on tourism cooperation, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), and maritime cooperation.

Also, both countries signed a letter of intent on agricultural cooperation.

Various key government players and business sectors from the Philippines have likewise engaged in productive dialogue with their counterparts in Brunei.

Marcos said the Philippine Business Forum highlighted agribusiness, renewable energy, halal development, and opportunities in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) as well as in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“The established connections between the Philippines’ and Brunei’s business sectors are expected to yield significant commercial benefits, including increased trade and investment, enhanced market access for goods and services, and sharing of technology innovations and best practices,” he added. 

Marcos also met with executives of Bruneian oil and gas companies, such as the Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sendiran Berhad, Brunei LNG Sendiran Berhad, Total Energies in Brunei, Serikandi Oilfield Services Sendiran Berhad, and the Adinin Group of Companies.

On the sidelines, Marcos visited the Filipino community in the Sultanate state.

Meanwhile, Marcos also made history by being the first Philippine president to deliver a keynote message at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

The President met with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and newly appointed Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Marcos said Shanmugaratnam has accepted his invitation for the latter to visit the Philippines in August.

“This is very important, especially because 2024 marks 55 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. We committed to work hard in pursuing the signing of three near-completion MOUs by the time the Singaporean President visits Manila later this year,” he noted.