President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted Friday the invitation of his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, for a state visit to Paris, according to the French Ambassador to the Philippines.
Ambassador Michèle Boccoz said in a message President Marcos has accepted the invitation and would mark the first such visit by a Filipino president since 1989.
Meanwhile, British envoy Laure Beaufils told CNN Philippines the United Kingdom would send an invitation to Mr. Marcos for his attendance during the coronation of the new monarch, King Charles III, in May.
Beaufils said the UK had sent the President a “save the date” notice for the coronation of King Charles, who succeeds his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, on May 6 at Westminster Abbey.
“We would love to see the president in the UK, and he will be getting an invitation.” the British ambassador to the Philippines said.
Beaufils also revealed there were key interests in the country that had been rising among British businessmen, adding the UK wants to be among the Philippines’ top investors.
President Marcos’ economic team is currently in London for a briefing with UK leaders, bankers, and businessmen.
Meanwhile, Mr. Marcos has met Macron on several occasions – the last when the President attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum in Bangkok last November 18, 2022.
In 1989, President Corazon Aquino met then-French President François Mitterand when she made a state visit.
Her son, President Benigno Aquino III, also made an official visit in 2014, meeting with his then-counterpart François Hollande.