By Kim Ji-eun

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the ASEAN Summit, held a summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. on Sept. 7.

President Yoon then attended the signing ceremony of the Korea-Philippines FTA, which was held on the occasion of the summit.

During the meeting, President Yoon exchanged views on ways to develop bilateral relations and requested the Philippines' support for the 2030 Busan World Expo.

The two leaders welcomed the remarkable development of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1949 and agreed to further strengthen practical cooperation in areas such as supply chain, defense, and nuclear power.

In particular, the two leaders agreed that the Korea-Philippines Free Trade Agreement, signed on the sidelines of the meeting, will serve as an important institutional foundation for expanding bilateral trade, and agreed to continue working together to ensure its speedy entry into force.

President Marcos Jr. said that the trilateral summit held in August at Camp David made important progress, and that trilateral cooperation is expected to contribute to stability, geopolitical tension reduction, and peace not only among the three countries but also in the region.

President Yoon and President Marcos Jr. agreed that 2024, the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, will be a new milestone in the development of bilateral ties, and agreed to take bilateral relations to the next level, including the establishment of a "strategic partnership.”