President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will speak before the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
“What is confirmed is PBBM will attend and deliver a statement at the 77th UNGA on 20 September,” DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said in a text message.
Meanwhile, the DFA has sent its recommendation to Mr. Marcos on Philippine representation to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Daza said the Office of the President “will decide and announce its decision in due course.”
While at UN headquarters in New York, the President plans to hold several bilateral meetings with other heads of state on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez previously said Mr. Marcos is preparing a speech for the event as preparations are ongoing for his trip.
Romualdez revealed that several bilateral meetings have been lined up for Mr. Marcos but did not say if a side meeting with US President Joe Biden is included.
“This is the first time that he will be addressing the UN—which is basically introducing himself to the world and the western world, specially, and secondly, to have economic meetings that will bring him investments to the Philippines,” Romualdez said.
The Filipino ambassador also said that he prefers a separate inaugural bilateral summit between Mr. Marcos and Biden in Washington D.C. at a mutually agreed date sometime this year.
Romualdez said the President has already drafted his speech, which he will deliver before the UN General Assembly.
“He’s had an outline about a month from now,” he said.
Mr. Marcos’ main thrust in relationships with other countries, especially with the United States, is to have more economic activity, Romualdez added.
The President cited the importance of the UN event and his desire to meet with other world leaders when he received envoys who offered their felicitations last July.
Mr. Marcos spoke on this after UN Resident Coordinator to the Philippines Gustavo Gonzalez paid a courtesy call to the President at his party’s headquarters in Mandaluyong City to discuss preparations for this year’s UN General Assembly.
In a press briefing after his private meeting with Mr. Marcos, Gonzalez said the General Assembly will focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the world.
