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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday welcomed New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Winston Peters, expressing hope that the two nations could further discuss geopolitical issues, as well as boost cooperation in various areas such as agriculture, and trade and investment.

Marcos expressed hope during Peters’ courtesy call that both sides could further capitalize on what was initially discussed during Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s official visit to the Philippines last April.

“Well, Mr. Prime Minister, I’m, of course, very pleased to be able to welcome you to Manila after the very good visit that your new Prime Minister had here with us just a few weeks ago,” Marcos said in welcoming Peters in Malacanang.

“And at which time they ? we agreed on many things and one of which was that the situation in our part of the world requires that ? shall we say the smaller countries get together and have a response or a joint positioning when it comes to these geopolitical issues that we are ? this complicated geopolitical issues that we are facing,” he added.

Marcos also said he and Luxon tackled other areas such as agriculture, trade, and possible investments, as well as the ongoing current expansions and operations in New Zealand.

The President expressed elation over Peters’ visit, expecting him to keep in touch with some of Filipino government officials and the private sector “to develop some of these ideas that we spoke about with your Prime Minister.”

For his part, Peters thanked the President for the warm welcome, telling him that after Prime Minister Luxon’s visit to Manila, “they had some very productive talks.”

During Luxon’s official visit to the Philippines, both leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral ties, elevating the relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership by 2026 and emphasized cooperation in defense, security, and maritime affairs, signing agreements and committing to combat common threats.

Trade and economic relations were bolstered with goals of increasing two-way trade by 50 percent by 2030 and enhancing collaboration in various sectors.

They also highlighted people-to-people connections, renewable energy, and climate change initiatives, and discussed regional and global developments, including concerns over the South China Sea, the Middle East humanitarian crisis, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and the situation in Myanmar.

The Philippines and New Zealand established formal diplomatic relations on July 6, 1966.

Last year, New Zealand ranked as the Philippines’ 28th trading partner out of 230 partners, with total trade amounting to $495.37 million.

It is also the country’s 38th export destination and 24th import source. The Philippines has a $361.94 million trade deficit with New Zealand. Presidential News Desk