Duterte to meet with Asean leaders in Indonesia

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will fly to Indonesia on Thursday, October 11, to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Leaders’ Gathering.

Duterte’s forthcoming meeting with Asean leaders was announced by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Junever Mahilum-West in a press conference held Monday, October 8.

“The Asean Leaders’ Gathering will be held in Bali, Indonesia, on 11 October 2018. The President will be attending the meeting [upon] the invitation of Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo,” Mahilum-West said.

“The Asean leaders will have two major engagements. They will hold the Asean Leaders’ Gathering proper in the afternoon of October 11, which will be immediately followed by the Asean Leaders’ Gathering Dinner in the evening,” she added.

Mahilum-West said the President would attend a two-hour informal roundtable discussion on achieving sustainable development goals and overcoming development gap through regional and global collaborative actions.

Duterte, along with other Asean leaders, would bolster “solid and intensifying” cooperation in managing economic growth and delivering meaningful progress in achieving the sustainable development goals, the Foreign Affairs official added.

“The President would highlight the government’s efforts to improve its performance in achieving the sustainable development goals; urge all parties to strengthen support for micro, small and medium enterprises’ development; [and] call for economic resilience amidst prevailing global economic uncertainties,” she said.

“The Asean Leaders’ Gathering will serve as a platform at the highest levels for further engagement of the Asean leaders,” she added.

Mahilum-West said Duterte would also have a “quick but intensive” bilateral meetings with at least three Asean leaders, including Widodo.