MANILA, Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will fly to Canberra on Wednesday, February 28, to address the Australian Parliament, signaling deepening engagement between the Philippines and Australia, Malacañang said Saturday.

Marcos will speak to Australian lawmakers on February 29 and discuss the vision for the Strategic Partnership between the two countries signed last year, the Palace said in a statement.

"The President will have separate meetings with Australian senior officials where he is anticipated to have constructive discussions on defense and security, trade, investments, people-to-people exchanges, multilateral cooperation, and regional issues," it added.

"Similarly, the visit will witness the signing of new agreements in areas of common interest to complement the already robust cooperation with Australia and expand engagements for mutual capacity-building," it said.

The Philippines and Australia will celebrate the 78th anniversary of diplomatic relations in November this year. Australia is one of only two countries with which the Philippines has a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement., the other being the United States.

In 2023, the two countries embarked on a strategic partnership that enhanced the bilateral relations.

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