President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. departed the Philippines for an official visit to Washington, D.C from July 20 – 22, upon the invitation of US President Donald Trump.

Marcos Jr. is the first Southeast Asian head of state to be invited to visit the U.S. and to hold a meeting with Trump since he took office this year.

He added that their delegation will reaffirm the Philippines’ commitment to fostering “long-standing alliances as an instrument of peace and a catalyst of development in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world”.

The President is also hopeful for a positive outcome in negotiating the 20 percent tariff the U.S. has slapped on Philippine exports — up from the 17 percent announced in April.

President Marcos Jr. is also expected to meet with business leaders “to explore business opportunities that will help to grow [the] economy even more”.

In his departure statement, he cited the bilateral meetings between former Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the visits to Manila of U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last March, United States Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in June and the bipartisan U.S. Congressional Delegations.

“My visit to Washington, D.C., and most importantly, my meeting with President Trump, is essential to continuing to advance our national interests and strengthening our alliance,” Marcos Jr. said.

“And we will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the United States concerning the changes that we would like to institute so as to be able to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines,” he noted.