MANILA, Philippines -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on jetted off for his state visit to Brunei to be followed by another official visit to Singapore.

The chief executive's visit to the sultanate on May 28 and May 29 will be highlighted by a meeting with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah where the two leaders are expected to tackle strengthening their countries' cooperation in security and defense, tourism, agriculture, and energy, among others.

"The Philippines and Brunei have enjoyed historically warm relations based on mutual respect and trust and confidence. Brunei has continuously been a reliable partner of the Philippines and our countries have enjoyed extremely friendly relations since we've established relations 40 years ago," he said in his departure speech at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Tuesday.

"I'm confident that our partnership with Brunei in these important sectors will further bolster political, economic, and people-to-people ties," he added.

From the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan, Marcos will proceed to Singapore where he will deliver the keynote address at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue 2024, making him the first sitting Philippine leader to do so.

The President tagged the event as a "very important dialogue" as it is an "extremely timely" avenue for him to articulate his administration's outlook on defense and diplomacy "while we continue to highlight the Philippines' commitment to a rules-based international order and constructive multilaterism amidst the current geopolitical challenges that we face in our region."

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