MANILA,
Oct 22 (PNA) -- President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said his recent State
Visits to Brunei Darussalam and the People’s Republic of China have
strengthened the Philippines’ economic and diplomatic ties with both countries
and have opened doors for more meaningful engagements as they discussed ways to
deepen their bilateral relations and explored other areas of undertakings .
In
his arrival message at the Davao International Airport upon returning from his
trips to Brunei Darussalam and People’s Republic of China, the President said a
clear focus was directed more on economic cooperation and partnership to
benefit the people of the Philippines.
In
his statement, the President has expressed his gratitude to Sultan Hassanal
Bolkiah of Brunei for expressing his willingness to work in partnership with
the Duterte administration’s quest for lasting peace in Mindanao.
“We
secured Brunei’s commitment to help develop Mindanao halal industry, especially
in certification and in capacity-building. Brunei and Mindanao can be twin hubs
for the production and export of halal-certified products, “ he said.
At
the same time, Duterte said he and Bolkiah agreed to intensify trade and
investments and work closely to further bolster the role of the BIMP-EAGA in
growing our economies.
“We
also agreed to address connectivity issues through increased air and sea
linkages to facilitate trade and commerce,” he said.
Both
leaders agreed to fully cooperate to combat the illegal drugs trade and
collaborate on maritime and defense issues, particularly in addressing
transnational crimes, piracy and crimes at sea, and to immediately work
together to transform these agenda into specific plans and actions.
Meanwhile,
in all his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the President disclosed
that he discussed with the Chinese leader a full range of Chinese-Philippine
relations, from trade and investments, to infrastructure and tourism, and to
science and technology and health.
“To
realize the vision of a deeper and more meaningful engagement, we have opened
formal lines of communications between our government and agreed on the full
resumption of the regular bilateral consultations mechanisms which were put on
hold for several years,” he said.
Duterte
said the Philippines and China affirmed the importance of maintaining and
promoting peace.
“We
acknowledged the need to address disputes through peaceful means in accordance
with international law. We also agreed to continue discussions on
confidence-building measures, including a bilateral consultation mechanism to
discuss immediate issues of concern in South China Sea,” he added.
With
regard to the government’s efforts to address the drug menace, the President
said both countries agreed to continue to work on capacity building measures,
equipment upgrading and support for rehabilitation purposes.
“With
the shared objective of achieving greater growth and prosperity for our peoples,
the Philippines and China jointly worked closely on building a robust economic
agenda,” he said.
Duterte
announced that the Philippines has also signed 13 agreements with the Chinese
government, mostly economic in nature. This, he said, will provide the
framework with which to carry out intensified cooperation between the two
countries, thus renewing optimism in their trade relations.
He
said his efforts to rekindle friendship with China has yielded in China’s
commitment in public financing agreements and private business deals valued at
24 billion US dollars in soft loans, a move which he described to have enhanced
the trade and investments between the two countries.
These
agreements, covering various fields of economic activities, are expected to
generate 2 million jobs for the Filipinos in the next five years, he said.
“Your
government will continue to work very hard to ensure that these agreements bear
concrete results that will better the lives of our people. We shall also make
sure that the credit facility and the soft loans will solely be utilized in
public financing that benefits all Filipinos,” he said.
The
President stressed that his State Visit to China signaled a turning point in
the shared history of both countries showing their capability to work together
for mutual beneficial cooperation while maintaining a commitment to settle
disputes peacefully, in adherence of international law.
“In
every step that took the Philippines and China relations further forward, I was
guided by my bounden duty to protect the sovereignty of our nation and the
interests of our people,” Duterte said.
The
President vowed to pursue the nation’s best interests in all his engagements
abroad, consistent with his thrust for independent foreign policy anchored on
the basic tenets of sovereignty, non-interference and mutual respect.
He said
the Duterte administration will harness foreign relations, while instituting
reforms in the country for its inclusive growth and sustainable development so
that working abroad becomes an option and no longer a need for the Filipino
people.
