President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. joined the leaders and representatives of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and its other international guests and partners at the Hwabaek International Convention Center with much anticipation for the start of the 32nd summit of the international business forum.
The summit comes just a day after United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Gyeongju and negotiated in rolling back some trade restrictions between Washington and Beijing, a development expected to ease the trade war between the two countries, both economic giants.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met the participants of the event on Friday morning before the start of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting session, with the theme: Towards a More Connected, Resilient Region and Beyond.
Upon Marcos’s arrival at the Convention Center, he shook the hands of Lee before posing for a picture.
South Korea described the Philippines as its oldest partner from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Other notable state officials who attended the event were US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese President Xi. Trump skipped the summit after his bilateral meeting with Xi and Lee.
Xi is currently on a three-day state visit in South Korea-his first in 11 years.
Last Thursday, Marcos said the meeting between Trump and Xi will send ripple effects during the APEC Summit as well as his bilateral meetings at the sidelines of the event.
‘Critical turning point’
In his opening speech at the opening of the APEC Summit, Lee called for unity among the summit participants to foster global economic growth amid ‘sweeping changes and global economic uncertainty.’
‘We all stand at a critical turning point as the international order undergoes rapid transformation,’ Lee said in Korean.
‘The free trade order is facing sweeping changes and global economic uncertainty is intensifying, and the momentum for trade and investment is weakening,’ he added.
Marcos said he will push for ‘practical’ outcomes from his participation at the 32nd APEC Summit that will help uplift the lives of Filipinos this week, including providing support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME), digital trade opportunities, food and energy security, and climate change.