President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Rural and Regional Development of Malaysia, Dr. Ahmad Zahid Bin Hamidi, in Malacañang, eyeing for a stronger collaboration in education and disaster response and management.

During the courtesy call on Monday, the two leaders saw the need to have a more technical and skilled workforce to respond to a rapidly changing world and, at the same time, usher in development.

As Marcos and Hamidi sat down for a discussion, the President boasted a "very good workforce,” describing it as young, hardworking, and well-trained. 

"Filipinos are used to working with foreign entities because of our diaspora. But we have to train them. After COVID everything is new. The technologies are different,” he said.

Last week, ASEAN leaders concluded that a well-trained workforce is necessary to have a strong economy.

Overseas, the Philippines is represented by a large labor workforce. With this, Marcos said the government adopted a system for skills training, providing knowledge mostly in construction to train plumbers, electricians, and carpenters.

For his part, Hamidi said Malaysia wants to learn from the Philippine education system, noting his country’s focus on encouraging students to choose Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

He also mentioned the SMART Team, a special Malaysian group that the President could approve and send to the Philippines during calamities.

The Chief Executive welcomed the kind gesture of the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister.

"Of course, that is a very generous offer of assistance. Yes, thank you. Actually, we can organize that as soon as everyone is ready for that,” Marcos said.

Last year, Marcos made a state visit to Malaysia in July after the invitation of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who made his official visit to the Philippines in March.

In the same period, Malaysia was the Philippines’ ninth largest trading partner out of 230, with total trade amounting to US$8.15 billion.