COOPERATION. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (left) and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen shake hands after holding a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 40th and 41stSEAN Summit and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Thursday (Nov. 10, 2022). The Cambodian official contracted Covid-19 after the summit. (Courtesy of the Office of the Press Secretary)
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wished Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen a “speedy recovery” after he tested positive for Covid-19.
Marcos himself underwent Covid-19 testing as part of protocols for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit which starts Friday in Bangkok, Thailand.
He likewise instructed members of the official Philippine delegation to Cambodia to have themselves tested.
The test results have not been released as of posting time.
“The President extends his wishes to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for a speedy recovery,” Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil, Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) officer-in-charge, said in a press statement on Tuesday.
Hun Sen, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), canceled meetings he was due to have at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday and Wednesday after contracting Covid-19.
The Cambodian leader met with Marcos as well as other regional and heads of state during the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Phnom Penh on Nov. 10 to 13.
Marcos and Hun Sen also held a bilateral meeting where they agreed to examine the "dynamics" of politics in Myanmar while engaging with the country "in every way possible."
Marcos will depart for Bangkok on Wednesday to join other world leaders for the APEC Summit.
It will be the first time Marcos will attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting since assuming office in June.
He is expected to raise food security, energy security, and climate change mitigation.
Earlier, Marcos said he considers both the ASEAN and APEC as vital platforms in advancing the country's interests and positions before world leaders.
The APEC serves as the premier Asia-Pacific economic forum, established in 1989, with the primary goal of supporting sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the region.
APEC's 21 member-economies are home to more than 2.9 billion people and make up over 60 percent of global gross domestic product.
The APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States. (PNA)
