(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte is back in the country after successful two-day trip in South Korea where he participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea (ASEAN-ROK) Commemorative Summit.
Duterte’s plane arrived in Manila at 6:17 p.m. Tuesday night, returning to the country after taking part in meetings at the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, and bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
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President Duterte has invited the South Korean president Moon Jae-In to visit the Philippines “at the soonest mutually convenient opportunity.”
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Philippine president extended the invitation during his bilateral meeting with Moon on the sidelines of 2019 Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea (Asean-ROK) Commemorative Summit on Monday.
President Duterte on Tuesday also welcomed President Moon Jae-in’s New Southern Policy, describing it as a timely and forward-looking initiative that complements the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Vision 2025.
In his intervention during the first session of the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, President Duterte said their task as leaders is to build synergies between the two distinct and related visions.
The President then outlined his domestic priorities that include fighting transnational crimes, which he said threaten societies across the globe.
Criminal networks rake in billions of dollars annually through illicit drugs and human trafficking, cybercrime, and other forms of criminal activities, he said, suggesting that the ASEAN and Korea must sustain cooperation, particularly in terms of exchange of information and intelligence to combat the problem.
The Philippines’ experience in Marawi City is also a wake up call, he said, stressing terrorism knows no borders. He then called for a greater collective action to combat this threat by addressing its root causes that include underdevelopment, inequality, and historical injustices. Cooperation should focus on capacity-building, he noted.
