ON HIS first foreign trip since taking office in June, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed with Indonesia President Joko Widodo on Monday, Sept. 5, 2022, four agreements on economy, cultural cooperation and defense and security.The two leaders talked about the difficulties Southeast Asian nations have faced after the Covid-19 pandemic, the territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the war in Ukraine.Marcos and Widodo signed the following:*Plan of Action between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines from 2022 to 2027;*Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines on Cultural Cooperation;*Agreement on Cooperative Activities in the Field of Defense and Security between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines; and*Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the Development and Promotion of Creative Economy between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines.Marcos left Manila on Sunday, Sept. 4, for a three-day state visit in Indonesia, which will be followed by a two-day state visit in Singapore.The President was accompanied by First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos and several Cabinet members including Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Ilocos Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.He thanked Widodo for inviting him to come over and to strengthen the partnership between the two countries.“I think that it is going to be the strong partnerships that we will make as we slowly come out of the pandemic economy that is what is going to lead us to success. … That is why we go once again to our friends and to our partners around the world especially in the region, especially together [with] what we spoke about the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries and the common concerns that we share. So again, it’s those partnerships I believe that will keep the stability of all of our plans and what we are hoping to do in the next few years,” Marcos said.Ferry lineAt a joint news conference, Marcos said increasing the volume of trade between their nations had been important in their talks.Widodo said his government has proposed to revitalize a ferry line connecting the border cities of Bitung and Davao and opening a direct flight between Manado, in eastern Indonesia and Davao, in the southern Philippines, to spur trade and their countries’ economies.On border security, Widodo said: “I am pleased that we have renewed the cooperative trilateral between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia because it is very important in securing waterways from the threat of hostage-taking and kidnapping.”Indonesian government data showed some 44 Indonesians were kidnapped and held hostage by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines between 2016 and 2019. Of the total, one hostage died while the others were freed. Most were migrant workers abducted off Sabah on Malaysia’s eastern coast.They also discussed issues such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the war in Ukraine that has upended the world’s fragile economic recovery from the pandemic.“We agreed that Asean is going to be the lead agent in the changes that we would like to see in continuing to bring peace to our countries,” Marcos said.Indonesia is the chair of the Group of 20 biggest economies this year and Asean next year. (SunStar Philippines, AP)