MULING pinagtibay nina Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud ang ugnayan ng Pilipinas at Saudi Arabia.

Mainit na tinanggap sa Malakanyang ng Pangulo si Prince Faisal na siya ring Minister of Foreign Affairs ng Saudi Arabia, nang mag-courtesy call ang huli.

Naka-upload sa official Facebook page ng State-run Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) ang maikling video ng pagkikita at pagpupulong nina Pangulong Marcos at Prince Faisal.

Makikita rin sa nasabing video ang pagpirma ni Prince Faisal sa guest book sa Malacañang Palace.

Sa kabilang dako, nagbahagi rin ang Embahada ng Saudi Arabia sa Pilipinas ng mga larawan ng pagpupulong nina Pangulong Marcos Jr. at Prince Faisal sa Twitter account.

Ipinaabot naman ng Saudi Foreign Minister ang ‘wish’ nina Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz at Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman kay Pangulong Marcos na “continued success.”

“During the reception, they reviewed the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries based on cordiality, friendship, and joint cooperation in various fields,” ayon sa embahada.

Kasama ng Pangulo sa nasabing courtesy call sina Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo at Presidential Management Staff Secretary Ma. Zenaida Angping.

Dumating sa bansa si Prince Faisal, Miyerkoles ng gabi bago pa makipagpulong kina Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo at Pangulong Marcos.

Samantala, nagkasundo sina Pangulong Marcos at Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe na palakasin ang bilateral relations ng Pilipinas at Sri Lanka.

Ang commitment ng dalawang lider ay nangyari sa kanilang bilateral meeting sa Malacañan Palace, Huwebes ng umaga.

Hangad ng dalawang lider ang “new approaches” upang mas lalo pang mapahusay ang ugnayan ng dalawang bansa.

“Following their friendly conversation, the two leaders commenced their bilateral discussions. During this discussion, greater emphasis was placed on further strengthening the longstanding bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the Philippines through new approaches,” ang kalatas na naka-upload sa official website ng Sri Lanka’s President’s Media Division (PMD).

Nabanggit naman ni Pangulong Marcos na napag-usapan nila ni Wickremesinghe ang pagdaraos ng Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits ngayong taon at maging ang posibleng paglikha ng monitoring at regulatory body na mangangasiwa sa Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

“In today’s courtesy call with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, we discussed the upcoming Asean conference and explored the possibility of having a monitoring and regulatory body to administer the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). We both believe this will be beneficial to all Asean members,” ang pahayag ni Pangulong Marcos sa kanyang Facebook post.

Ang 40th at 41st Asean Summit and Related Summits ay idaraos sa Nobyembre ngayong taon. (CHRISTIAN DALE)