Marcos says visit to Indonesia was 'more productive than expected'
JAKARTA, Indonesia — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. described his first ever state visit as "more productive" than expected, citing the talks with the Indonesian government on key sectors and business deals that he said would bring a "significant" amount of investment into the Philippines.
Speaking to journalists who covered his three-day state visit here, Marcos said his discussions with Indonesian President Joko Widodo covered a wide range of topics and "proceeded so quickly."
"So far so good. The things that we planned to talk about with the President of Indonesia, President Joko Widodo... the subjects that we expected to be raised, we did. But we went beyond the plan. We started talking about other things," the president said.
"I think I would describe the trip as extreme – more productive than we had expected," he added.
"I think considering (we were) here for what, a day and a half, working for a day and a half, marami rin tayong nagawa (we were able to accomplish a lot)."
Marcos said he and Widodo talked about creating task forces at the technical level, a move that he said would get things done faster.
"We reached the organization of task force at the technical level, which generally you don’t get to in a state visit. Usually, these are discussed in the ministerial level first or there will be talks with our group, we’ll come and talk to you. He (Widodo) said, let us skip that, let’s go straight (ahead) already. Let’s get something done," Marcos said.
"The ministers of President Widodo are very enthusiastic about the prospects in the Philippines. They can see a lot of opportunities. So we will pursue that," he added.
Agriculture, energy
Marcos, who also holds the portfolio of the agriculture department, said he and Widodo talked about the possibility of Indonesia supplying the Philippines with urea fertilizers.
The president previously said the Philippine government would reach out to different countries to buy cheaper fertilizers to boost the production of farmers. He has announced plans to talk to countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates to procure fertilizer through bilateral agreements.
Marcos said he also sought assistance from Indonesia to develop the Philippines' fisheries sector.
"Pati ‘yung nagpatulong ako sa fisheries, kasi obsessed doon ako sa Pilipinas nag-iimport ng galunggong eh. Hindi ko talaga matanggap ‘yan eh (I asked help on fisheries because I am obsessed with the fact that the Philippines imports galunggong. I can't accept it)," the president said, referring to what was once dubbed as the poor man's fish.
"So I asked for help because their fisheries sector is stable. I said we exchange delegations... Those are the things especially in the agricultural sector (that) are going to happen in the very short term," he added.
Energy supply was also discussed during the bilateral meeting, including the possibility of increasing the energy trade volume between the two countries.
"Much of our coal comes from Indonesia. And there was a time a few weeks back, they stopped exporting coal. We talked to them and they included us in the list (of countries) that will get supply from them," Marcos said in Filipino.
While the Philippines still depends on coal, which is not seen as an environment-friendly energy source, Marcos said he asked Widodo how Indonesia is shifting to renewable energy.
'Come to the Philippines'
Another key subject during Marcos' inaugural state visit was trade, as the chief executive urged Indonesian businesses to invest in the Philippines.
"But I think the most extensive subject matter was in fact, PPP (public-private partnership). Because we are here to encourage PPPs with the Philippine government. But not only the Philippine government," the Philippine leader said.
"Aside from the PPP, we talked about the joint venture of businessmen here. They will come to the Philippines, Filipino businesses come to Indonesia for joint ventures, but also to do business with the government," he added.
Marcos, who attended two meetings with investors last Monday, said the biggest businessmen here are "very enthusiastic" about the Philippines. He said Indonesian investors have not been able to come to the Philippines properly because of the pandemic. He added that PPPs "weren’t really being encouraged in the previous years."
"I said those things have changed. So come to the Philippines... Many of them are already actually involved in the Philippines. They said they would expand their involvement," Marcos said.
Marcos said business deals were signed during the meetings, agreements that he said should materialize so they can benefit the country.
"MOUs (memoranda of understanding) are LOIs (letters of intent) are the only the beginning to these things. But we are determined that it will not end there. Sometimes, an MOU is signed and then nothing happens. We will make sure that it won't happen," the President said.
"With regard to the signed LOIs and MOUs, if we finish half of it, that would be a significant thing," he added.
Marcos could not provide figures on the investments that are expected to come to the Philippines but claimed that the amount would be "quite significant." He said some of the business expansions are ongoing while others are long-term investments.
The president said investments in manufacturing and transport, the purchase of agricultural commodities from Indonesia and the assistance it will give in energy and fisheries would be felt immediately by the country.
Despite plans by some Indonesian businesses to come to the Philippines, Marcos cited the need to address the trade imbalance between Manila and Jakarta.
The trade volume between the two countries totaled $9.5 billion last year, $8.6 billion of which represented Indonesia's exports to the Philippines.
"I said we should find ways to turn that around," Marcos said.
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