Metro Manila, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. tackled his administration’s priorities in separate meetings with business leaders and a former United Kingdom prime minister championing globalization during his working visit to the United States.

In a Facebook post late Wednesday, Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) said Marcos attended a business dialogue with the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce.

“The President discusses the Philippines’ priorities as conveyed in his national statement during the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level General Debate, and the bilateral economic and investment agenda of the Philippine Government,” said RTVM in its post.

On early Thursday, the chief executive confirmed in an Instagram post his meeting with ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is now executive chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

“We tackled the optimistic peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and explored concrete ways to address other priority issues in the global economy such as food security, climate action, and trade,” Marcos said.

State-run PTV likewise shared photos of Marcos’ meeting with World Bank President David Malpass. RTVM also confirmed Marcos met with American global food corporation Cargill. No other details were provided.

Among the highlights of his trip was his speech before the UN General Assembly, making him the first Philippine leader to address the international body physically since the late President Noynoy Aquino in 2010.
Marcos’ six-day working visit to the US began on Sept. 18.