The Philippines and South Korea on Monday sealed six new deals, including agreements on strengthening maritime cooperation and a feasibility study on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant rehabilitation as the two countries agree to elevate their ties to a “strategic partnership”, reports the Philippine News Agency (PNA). President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol witnessed the presentation of the newly signed deals in Malacañang.

The new deals are as follows:

--Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Korea Coast Guard on Maritime Cooperation

--MOU on the Economic Innovation Partnership Program (EIPP);

--MOU for Strategic Cooperation on Critical Raw Material Supply Chains;

--MOU on the Feasibility Study of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant;

--Loan Agreement on Samar Coastal Road II Project and MOU on the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project Phase I (Stage I) and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project; and

--Implementation Program of the MOU between the Department of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of the Republic of Korea for 2024-2029.

Yoon is in Manila for a two-day state visit upon the invitation of Marcos. He is the first South Korean leader to visit the country since 2011.

Bilateral relations between the two countries began on March 3, 1949 when the Philippines became the fifth nation to recognize the Republic of Korea.This friendship was cemented by the deployment of the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK) during the Korean War in the 1950s.