Duterte's Japan visit yielded strong cooperation on trade, defense — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Saturday said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s working visit to Japan yielded strong bilateral cooperation in trade and defense between the two countries.

“President Duterte and (Japanese) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in infrastructure development, trade and investments, agriculture, labor, defense, maritime security and maritime domain awareness, people-to-people exchanges, and the pursuit of a just and lasting peace and progress in Mindanao,” the statement from Palace read.

Early Saturday morning, Duterte returned to Manila from a working visit in Japan, where he attended a summit with the Japanese prime minister and participated in the 25th Nikkei International Conference.

The Palace said that Duterte and Abe, during their meeting Friday night, “discussed modalities for greater cooperation in upgrading the Philippines defense capabilities, including in maritime security and maritime domain awareness.”

The statement, however, did not expound on this.

It also said that Duterte and Abe “exchanged views on regional maritime security, non-traditional threats, on-going efforts to secure peace in Korean Peninsula, supporting free trade, and advancing the rule of law, including in the South China Sea.”

Duterte revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had invited him to a meeting in South Korea, but did not provide details about the invitation.

The announcement was made a month after a historic summit between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons. During the working visit, Duterte also encouraged Japanese investors to take part in the government’s infrastructure program, “Build, Build, Build.”

The Palace said that the Department of Trade and Industry-led forum between Japanese and Filipino business executives yielded P288.804 billion worth of business deals.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who was part of the delegation to Tokyo, earlier said that the agreements, which include investment pledges, would create at least 80,000 jobs.

The deals cover infrastructure, manufacturing, electronics, medical devices, business process outsourcing, power, electricity, transport, automotive, food manufacturing and marine manpower industries, said Lopez. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from The STAR/Alexis Romero