MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday and strategized to agreed on bilateral cooperation by expanding trade, advancing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, attracting more investments, and strengthening collaboration in health and social development.
Their meeting at Istana took place during Marcos’ two-day working visit to the city-state.
He disclosed their agreement to move forward with new collaborations aimed at reinforcing the Philippines-Singapore partnership and delivering greater benefits to both countries.
“Today, I met with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to discuss how the Philippines and Singapore can expand trade, navigate the adoption of AI, attract more investments and deepen cooperation in the health and social sectors,” the chief executive said in a social media post.
He added that both sides remain committed to working together to keep Southeast Asia “peaceful, stable and open to greater opportunities for everyone.”
Wong, on the other hand, described the meeting as a productive discussion, saying Singapore and the Philippines share “strong and growing ties.”
He noted that Singapore remains one of the Philippines’ largest foreign investors and said both countries have significant opportunities to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, as well as the green and digital economies.
The Singaporean leader also said they discussed ways to strengthen longstanding people-to-people ties between the two nations, underscoring the importance of sustained engagement beyond economic cooperation.
Wong thanked Marcos for the Philippines’ leadership as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this year and said Singapore, which will assume the bloc’s chairmanship next year, would work closely with Manila to ensure a smooth transition.
