President Ferdinand Marcos Jr left for Cambodia Wednesday afternoon to attend the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits.

He left around 5 pm onboard a Philippine Airlines flight.

The ASEAN Summits are being held for the first time face-to-face in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marcos said in his departure speech at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 that '' I will seek further cooperation in key priorities of my Administration as well as how to explore what we can do to come together to address the most pressing issues of the region."

"We will emphasize regional cooperation on maritime security, climate change, food security, health cooperation and economic recovery amongst others," he added.

He will be tackling the Myanmar political crisis, developments in the South China Sea, and the Russia and Ukraine conflict.

"We will promote the Philippines not only as an investment center, not only as a tourism center, but as a partner, a global partner for our ASEAN member nations and for all our friends around the world who will be joining the ASEAN Conference," Marcos said. DMS