00:00His Excellency, President Santiago Peña Palacios, Distinguished Members of the Philippine and Paraguayan Delegations, Members of the Press, Good Afternoon,
00:11Magandang Hapon, Buenas Tades.
00:13Today I have the distinct honor of welcoming to the Malacanang Palace His Excellency, Santiago Peña Palacios, President of the
00:22Republic of Paraguay.
00:23Since the Philippines and Paraguay established diplomatic relations 63 years ago on December 12, 1962, this is the first presidential
00:34visit ever made by either leader of our two countries.
00:38And since Paraguay has taken the first step, I think it is important that the Philippines soon return the favor.
01:16Other Products to Paraguay, which will certainly give a boost to our local industry.
01:21And President Peña and I discuss the potential of increasing trade and investment between our two nations,
01:28starting with generating awareness and interest among businesses of both sides,
01:34with the longer-term objective of identifying and enabling economic and commercial opportunities.
01:41In line with this objective, we welcome the signing of the Memoranda of Agreement between the Philippines and the Chamber
01:49of Commerce and Industry,
01:50and Paraguay's Investment and Export Network, or REDIEX, a pivotal step in establishing contacts between Philippine and Paraguayan companies.
02:01I commend the PCCI for this groundbreaking initiative.
02:05Complementing the establishment of institutional and commercial linkages is today signing of a visa waiver agreement for ordinary passport holders
02:15of the Philippines and Paraguay,
02:17which the President and I hope will expedite business tourism and people-to-people exchanges between our two countries.
02:26The President and I likewise welcome today signing of an MOU on mutual cooperation in the field of diplomatic training
02:35between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
02:40which will redound to closer engagements between Filipino and Paraguayan diplomats.
02:46President Peña and I also shared political and economic developments in our respective countries and exchanged views on the regional
02:54issues such as our ASEAN 2026 chairship and Paraguay's presidency of Mercosur One.
03:03I express my hope that President Peña's landmark visit is only the beginning of the deepening friendship and partnership between
03:12the Philippines and Paraguay.
03:14I am actually very optimistic in that in our discussion earlier, what came out was a remarkable parallel in the
03:26way that our countries are developing ourselves
03:30and how we view our countries, the Philippines views itself as a gateway to Asia and Paraguay a gateway to
03:41Latin America.
03:42And that connection, should we make it and should we strengthen it, will be a remarkable boon, not only to
03:51your country and mine, but also to the regions from where we come from.
03:56And that has been, we discussed many things and it was a very exciting discussion.
04:03And we were starting to talk, not in terms of the short term or even the medium term, but in
04:08the much, much longer term.
04:10So we have a great deal of work ahead of us to make sure that we keep that momentum going
04:15in our bilateral relations.
04:18Once again, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude to the President and the Paraguayan delegation for this historic and
04:26productive visit.
04:27Thank you. Thank you very much.
04:29Madame y Salamat, muchas gracias.
04:38Distinguished members of the press, good morning, everybody.
04:42Allow me to express my deepest gratitude to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
04:48for the warm reception extended to our delegation during this historical official visit to the Republic of the Philippines,
04:57a nation that embodies a vibrant democracy and a spirit of openness that I deeply admire.
05:03I also extend my sincere appreciation to the Filipino people for their gracious hospitality,
05:10which reflect the spirit of brotherhood with which we aspire to build this new chapter in our relationship.
05:17This visit carries a historic significance that cannot be overlooked.
05:22It is the first time that a President of the Republic of Paraguay sets foot on Philippine soil.
05:29This fact is not merely protocolary.
05:32It is the clearest expression of the political will of both governments to inaugurate a new face in our bilateral
05:39relations,
05:39grounded in shared principles and values such as mutual respect, the rule of law,
05:45and a commitment to the economic development of our peoples.
05:49At the multilateral level, I am pleased to announce that Paraguay has formally convened to the Government of the Philippines,
05:56in its capacity as Chair of Asia, its intention to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast
06:04Asia.
06:05This decision reflects our firm determination to integrate into the regional dialogue and cooperation mechanism,
06:12in line with the principles of peace, respect for sovereignty, and the peaceful settlement of dispute that have historically guided
06:21Paraguay's foreign policy.
06:23Accession to the attack is not a symbolic act.
06:27It is a strategic declaration that positions Paraguay as an actor committed to stability and multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific.
06:36In the area of trade, I welcome the fact that the opening of the Philippine market to imports of Paraguayan
06:44beef, pork, and poultry,
06:46in force since August of last year, 2025, has already enabled the first concrete shipment to this market.
06:54This milestone demonstrates the capacity of our productive sector to access one of Asia's most demanding and dynamic markets,
07:03with more than 100 million consumers, we aspire for this trade-flow to expand and diversify in a sustained manner,
07:13consolidating Paraguay as a reliable supplier of animal protein in Southeast Asia.
07:20Likewise, we see significant opportunities to broaden our export offering in grain, maize, oilseeds,
07:27and agro-industrial products, in response to Philippine demand for food security.
07:33In terms of economic integration, we identify a structural complementarity between our economies that goes well beyond trade in goods.
07:43Paraguay offers competitive conditions for the maquila industry, attractive incentive for foreign investment,
07:50and a logistic platform in full expansion thanks to the bio-oceanic corridor,
07:56positioned us as a natural bridge between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
08:00The Philippines, for its part, represents an invaluable gateway to Southeast Asia.
08:07I would also like to highlight that Paraguay currently holds the pro-temporary presidency of Mercosur,
08:13while the Philippines chair Asia.
08:15This conversion is not coincidental, it is an opportunity that we must say is with determination
08:21to advance a more structural dialogue between both regions.
08:27In this regard, we have agreed to explore a roadmap aimed at deepening ties between Mercosur and the Philippines,
08:34with a view to laying the foundation for a broader engagement between our two blocs,
08:40Mercosur and Asia, in trade, investment, and value chains.
08:45Finally, I deeply reaffirmed Paraguay's commitment to strengthening this bilateral relation as a strategic partnership.
08:54The two agreements we signed here today further validate this position.
09:00Paraguay and the Philippines share a converged vision of the international order,
09:05the rule of law, respect for sovereignty, the peaceful settlement of dispute,
09:10the promotion of multilateralism, and a commitment to an international system based on clear and predictable rules.
09:18These shared principles and values provide a lasting foundation for our relationship.
09:23On this solid basis, I am confident that this first presidential visit will open a path of mutual understanding,
09:31joint work, and tangible benefit for both the Filipino and the Paraguayan people.
09:37President Marco, I deeply want to share my sense of gratitude.
09:43I have the confidence that we both came to this first meeting with high expectations.
09:52But I am leaving this great nation with even greater expectations about the future of our two nations and our
10:00people.
10:00As the only country in Asia with Latino roots, I have no doubt that the role that you can play
10:10as a leader of the region
10:11will be fundamental for bringing together two regions that share a lot in terms of expectations about the future.
10:21So I deeply appreciate your welcoming and express the gratitude that we all felt.
10:29And we are looking forward to respond to this in the near future with a possible visit of yourself and
10:36your delegation.
10:37Thank you very much, Mr. President.
10:38Thank you very much.
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