PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte reaffirmed on Monday the Philippines’ commitment for better relations and friendship with South Korea after his meeting with its President Moon Jae-In. In his opening remarks during his meeting with Moon, Duterte stressed the importance between Philippines and South Korea relations, strengthened by “long and deep” bilateral ties for the past seven decades. The Philippines, according to Duterte, welcomed the Republic of Korea’s “New Southern Policy,” which aims to better connect South Korea to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping. We need to work with friends and partners like South Korea to achieve shared aspirations for our people and regions,” the President said. According to Moon, Korea is the fifth largest trade partner for the Philippines and their bilateral trade volume reached $14.3 billion last year.

Source: Manila Times June 04, 2018 10:41 UTC