Marcos opens ASEAN Summit: Bloc must find answers to Middle East crisis

CEBU, Philippines – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted the importance of addressing the effects of the Middle East conflict as he opened the 48th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cebu on Friday, May 8.

“The increasingly volatile situation in the Middle East has impacted our region, challenging us to remain agile in the face of uncertainties…. Many of our countrymen continue to look to us, their leaders, not only for stability, but for reassurance and for hope,” Marcos said in his speech during the opening ceremony.

“The work of ASEAN must continue, not despite the challenges, but because the times demand our answers to those challenges for our peoples, for our countries, for ASEAN,” he also said.

“If there is one lesson ASEAN has learned over the decades, it is that difficult times do not divide us. For ASEAN, challenges present us with opportunities that have further strengthened our resolve to work more closely, to listen more carefully, and to act more purposefully. This summit gathering is evidence of that commitment.”

Watch Marcos’ speech in the video above. – Rappler.com