MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed confidence Friday that American and Japanese investments in the country will materialize in the next five years following his trilateral summit with the leaders of said countries.

“They have already committed to these investments and the fact that we have together identified areas – that investment will go to, it shows that this is not a promise – it is something that we intend to do. I am very confident that this will all materialize and mararamdaman natin sa Pilipinas,” President Marcos said during a media interview in Waldorf, Hotel in Washington, DC.

“I think for the years to come we’ll start to begin [to] see the wisdom of having that – good thing entered into. We affirmed our close relationship with the United States – made to the US, which is indicative of how are we redefining our relationship – developments around the world, how we approach it – it’s really about development, so all of these things have come together,” he said.

The President said he sees the trilateral alliance changing the dynamics in the region, in Southeast Asia, in Asia, and around the South China Sea, noting such partnership is a major step for the Philippines, US, and Japan.

The trilateral summit formalized the partnership between the Philippines, Japan and the US, the President said, adding it is a continuing evolution of their relationship amid new challenges in Indo-Pacific.

“This is evidence(d) by the fact that the large part of the agreement is on economic proposal – security and defense, of course, is there, but it is not the main point of the trilateral agreement,” President Marcos noted.

“Talaga namang very well defined, [the] sectors that we have prioritized are stated very clearly – we have to characterized it properly, nagkakaisa lang ang tatlong bansa, ang Japan, ang US at Pilipinas. Walang mangyayari sa mga plano kung magkagulo, nais natin ‘wag masyadong magkagulo,” he stressed.

President Marcos has concluded his two-day working visit to the US which included a bilateral meeting with his American counterpart, the trilateral meeting with US and Japanese leaders, the meeting with US defense officials, and US business leaders. (PND)