President Duterte and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are set to meet on May 31 in Tokyo to further strengthen ties in various areas, including infrastructure development and labor as well as defense and security in the West Philippine Sea.
This will be the 7th meeting of the two leaders roughly about half a year since their meeting in November 2018 at the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore.
“[This] will be an opportunity for the two leaders to take stock of the progress of our strengthened strategic partnership in such areas as defense and security, economic cooperation, infrastructure development, the entry of Filipino skilled workers to Japan, Japanese assistance for the development of the Bangsamoro region, as well as exchange views on regional issues of mutual concern including the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea,” Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary Meynardo Montealegre said in a briefing on Friday.
Upon the invitation of Nikkei Inc., the President will be in Tokyo for 25th Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia from May 30-31.
This will also mark the President’s third trip to Japan since 2016.
“This conference gathers government and business leaders to share their respective assessment of Asia’s prospects and their ideas as to the direction Asia should chart for itself. With its solid track record of featuring Asian leaders and speakers, the conference has earned a reputation of being one of Asia’s top foreign policy in economic fora,” Montealegre said.
On the second day of the conference, Duterte will also be delivering the keynote address in the same event wherein he will be focusing on the theme “Seeking a New Global Order — Overcoming the Chaos.”
Shortly after delivering his address, the President will be going straight to his bilateral meeting with Abe.
The Philippines is also expected to sign at least 10 business-to-business deals with Japan although this will not be witnessed by the two leaders.
Montealegre said they are also finalizing arrangements for a possible meeting of Duterte and the Filipino community in Japan.
Other Asian leaders who are also invited and confirmed to address the conference include Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheik Hasina, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, and Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith. The deputy prime ministers of Vietnam and Singapore will also be in attendance along with ministers from Japan, Brunei, Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia.
Japan has been one of the crucial partners of the Philippines in terms of economic development, especially for being the country’s top source of official development assistance. Aside from this, Japan is also the country’s second-biggest trading partner and its fourth-largest tourism market.