PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is set to travel to Australia for a visit as a Guest of the Australian Government on 28-29 February 2024.
President Marcos is expected to address the Australian Parliament, where he will discuss the vision for the Strategic Partnership between the Philippines and Australia signed last year.
The President will have separate meetings with Australian senior officials where he is anticipated to have constructive discussions on defense and security, trade, investments, people-to-people exchanges, multilateral cooperation, and regional issues.
Similarly, the visit will witness the signing of new agreements in areas of common interest to complement the already robust cooperation with Australia and expand engagements for mutual capacity-building.
The Philippines and Australia will celebrate the 78th anniversary of diplomatic relations in November this year. As of 2022, 408,000 Filipinos and Australians with Filipino descent call Australia their home, making them the 5th largest migrant community in the country. Strategically, Australia remains as one of only two countries with which the Philippines has a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA). In 2023, the two countries embarked on a Strategic Partnership that enhanced the bilateral relations from a Comprehensive Partnership in 2015.
metrosundaily
