Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House), South Korea
June 4, 2018

Marking the second day of his three-day official visit, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and President Moon Jae-in held a bilateral meeting at the Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House) in Seoul, South Korea.

In his remarks, President Moon Jae-in warmly welcomed President Duterte and the members of his delegation.  He conveyed that their meeting is a run up for next year’s 70th anniversary of friendly relations between South Korea and the Philippines.

The South Korean President also cited the productive discussions the two leaders had, where both expressed commitment to deepen its friendly ties “to an even higher level in a future-oriented way to establish regional peace together.”

He also expressed his hopes that the visit will not only deepen the South Korea-Philippine relations but would also provide the impetus to further elevate its relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through its ASEAN-Korea Future-Oriented Community initiative.

In response, President Duterte thanked the South Korean President for the warm reception, and expressed optimism in deepening its bilateral ties with the Republic of Korea.

“Our restricted meeting has shown us that ours is a special relationship that can only grow stronger with political commitment,” he said.

President Duterte also expressed support to President Moon’s Southern Side Policy — a move to revitalize and expand cooperative ties between South Korea and the ASEAN region.

“As I said before, the Philippines’ destiny is in Asia.  We need to work with friends and partners like South Korea to achieve shared aspirations for our people and regions,” he said.

He likewise conveyed that the Philippines’ independent foreign policy “recognizes the importance of friends and their significance in building the environment needed for both countries to grow together.”

At present, South Korea is the fifth largest trading partner of the Philippines with bilateral trade reaching US$14.3 billion in 2017.

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