Presidential Guest House, Panacan, Davao City
January 3, 2018

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte welcomed H.E. Retno Marsudi, Foreign Minister of Indonesia, who paid a courtesy call at the Presidential Guest House in Panacan, Davao City.

Minister Marsudi expressed her gratification upon meeting President Duterte in the Chief Executive’s hometown, and shared that Davao City is her first destination for the year.

The visit of the Indonesian Foreign Minister to the Philippines aims to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in education, especially in disseminating the true value of Islam as a peaceful religion, as well as the provision of passports to 300 Indonesians currently staying in the Philippines for their identification, security and protection.

Minister Marsudi was accompanied by Charge d’affaires Budi Dhewajani (Embassy of Indonesia in Manila), Consul General Berlian Napitupulu (Embassy of Indonesia in Davao), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Director for Southeast Asia Affairs Deni Abdi, MOFA Director for Indonesian Citizen and Legal Entities Protection Overseas Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, and the Director for ‘Madrassah’ Curriculum of the Institutional Facilities and Student Ministry of Religions Ahmad Umar.

Present for the Philippine side were Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Enrique Manalo, DFA Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Director Rona Beth Goce, Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Lorna Dino, and DepEd Director Marge Ballesteros.

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