PBBM, ex-UK PM Tony Blair tackle peace efforts, economy

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday met with Tony Blair, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, where they discussed initiatives to achieve lasting peace and sustainable development.

“We tackled the optimistic peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of 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 in a post.

Blair serves as the current executive chairman of the Tony Blair Institute For Global Change, a non-profit organization that seeks to support political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies in a globalized world.

In his speech at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, Marcos cited the Philippines’ success in achieving peace in BARMM by turning to “inclusive dialogue.” Marcos said the country also takes the same approach in Asia, stressing that it creates partnerships for peace and development through inter-faith and inter-religious dialogue, especially in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“In the face of great diversity, we believe that partnerships form the bridge to unite all of us in promoting peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region,” Marcos said.

“The peace that we have forged after many decades of conflict among warring factions and clansmen demonstrates that unity is possible even in the most trying circumstances,” he said. Marcos is on the fourth day of his sixday trip to the United States, where he is expected to hold more bilateral talks with heads of state while at the same time wooing foreign investors and big businesses. (PND)