Davao International Airport, Davao City
October 12, 2018

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte arrived at the Davao International Airport in Davao City after concluding his participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Gathering in Bali, Indonesia.

The ASEAN Leaders’ Gathering served as a platform for further engagement among the 10 ASEAN leaders and key officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), and the United Nations (UN) in exchanging ideas concerning building synergy in strengthening financial stability in the ASEAN community, accelerating economic development and regional integration, as well as exploring potential collaboration to achieve developmental goals.

In the said gathering, President Duterte reiterated the Philippines’ national priorities of inclusive growth, stable and secure environment, and economic integration in the region.

“I stressed the importance of a stronger ASEAN in order to sustain the efforts towards greater peace, progress and prosperity for Southeast Asia and its peoples,” he said.

The Chief Executive mentioned that he was able to meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and personally conveyed the Philippines’ condolences to the Indonesian people who suffered from the recent onslaught of earthquakes and tsunami.

Moreover, President Duterte met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc wherein they discussed about the delineation of the Philippines and Vietnam’s boundaries.

“I told him that in due time, that we will take a longer period for we have to establish even our continental shelf limits. We both committed to work more closely to achieve shared goals for stability in the region,” he emphasized.

“At the end of the meeting, the Philippines remains committed to work closely with ASEAN and key global institutions to ensure a peaceful, secure and stable environment that promotes the greater common good,” President Duterte ended.

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