US working on Duterte-Trump meeting in Washington
MANILA, Philippines — The United States government is set on facilitating President Rodrigo Duterte's visit to Washington, US Ambassador to Manila Sung Kim said Tuesday.
It's been more than a year since US President Donald Trump first invited Duterte to the White House following a phone conversation in May 2017.
The US envoy noted that both the Philippines and the US have "strong interest" in pursuing Duterte's visit to Washington.
"As you know, President Trump has already invited President Duterte to visit Washington but obviously there had been lots of important development here in the Philippines and I think it’s a question of scheduling as to when President Duterte would make a visit to the US," Kim said in an interview, as reported by state-run PTV.
Kim also noted that Duterte and Trump have a "very strong relationship" due to their common interest on upholding the rule of law.
The American government will continue to work with the Philippine government in solving the drug problem in the country, the US envoy said.
“I think our robust law enforcement cooperation will continue and it is important both sides agree on the importance of rule of law and respect for human rights as we proceed with efforts to deal with the drug problem,” Kim said.
Despite Duterte's previous tirades against the US, Kim insisted that the Philippines-US relations have seen significant development.
The US was among the first foreign nations to assist the Philippines when ISIS-inspired local terrorists seized Marawi City last year.
“We worked together to defeat the terrorist attack on Marawi City and now we’re supporting the government’s efforts to rebuild Marawi,” the US envoy said.
Kim added that economic ties between the two countries remain strong as the Philippines has expressed interest in pursuing a free trade agreement with the US.
Duterte met Trump for the first time in November 2017 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation SUmmit in Vietnam.
Trump also visited the Philippine for the first time when he attended the ASEAN-US Summit and East Asia Summit in Manila last year, where he held a bilateral meeting with Duterte. — Patricia Lourdes Viray
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