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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation in the West Philippine Sea during a phone call on Wednesday.

This was announced by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) in a Facebook post on Thursday.

During their conversation, Marcos said the Philippine government is exerting all efforts “to maintain the peace, to maintain the stability, keep the shipping lanes open and airways open” in the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos also expressed his gratitude for the support of the French government to the Philippines' effort to maintain the peace and freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea.

“May I thank France for all the support that you have given us in terms of our shared values, in terms of following the international law, especially UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) and it has been of great help the messages of support and even when you sent French vessels to come and patrol. So I have to thank you, Mr. President, and France,” he said.

As Marcos extended his invitation to Macron to visit the Philippines whenever he made a state visit to Asia, the two leaders also discussed the upcoming visit of French ministers in the country before the end of the year.

“We can work on what was just held last June, the 10th Philippine-France Joint Economic Committee Meeting. And many of the businessmen from France were able to speak to our ministers and some of the local businessmen as well,” he said.

Several French ministers are set to visit the country this year to discuss possible new bilateral cooperation on the priority agenda of the Marcos administration.

The country will be pursuing the bilateral talks, which were initiated during the 10th Philippine-France Joint Economic Committee Meeting last June.

Among the matters, which were tackled in the joint Philippines-France economic committee meeting were infrastructure and transportation, aeronautics, energy, agriculture, electronics, maritime industry, and shipbuilding. Robina Asido/DMS