SEOUL, 14 November 2022 - Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 12 November 2022.

As a testament to the 73-year strong partnership between both countries, both sides had a warm, productive discussion, taking stock of the gains of PH-ROK relations and its way forward.

The two Presidents agreed to strengthen and elevate relations between PH and ROK in the areas of security, infrastructure, energy, and people-to-people ties.

"I do believe that it is time that we start to work to elevate our bilateral relations to a strategic partnership," President Marcos told ROK President Yoon. "Our newly launched bilateral platforms on science and technology, fisheries, and maritime cooperation, all contribute to the deepening of this engagement," the Philippine President added.

The Philippine President likewise expressed gratitude to ROK for its solidarity initiative centering on maritime security that entails infusion of significant funding in various regional cooperative projects, such as ROK's BIMP-EAGA Fund.

The Philippines and Korea held an inaugural Maritime Cooperation Dialogue last September 2022 in Busan. END