President Duterte and Jordan’s King Abdullah II (second from right) witness an urban guerrilla demonstration during a visit to a military facility at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center in Amman, Jordan on Sept. 6. Also in photo is Def

AMMAN – The Philippines and Jordan have vowed to fight terrorism as they admitted that the threat posed by extremists may not be quelled anytime soon.

President Duterte and Jordanian King Abdullah II stressed that terrorism is a “scourge” and an “evil,” which threatens their countries’ security.

“I think one of the main things that bind us together is the scourge of terrorism, which is a challenge for our region and your region, for your country and my country... the international cooperation and coordination… is now becoming much more apparent because this is an issue that’s going to be with us not only for the next five to 10, 15 years,” Abdullah said during his bilateral meeting with Duterte.

“It’s going to take us a while to overcome the... mentalities that these very horrible evil people perpetrated in your region and in mine,” he added.

Duterte, the first sitting Philippine president to visit Jordan, agreed that terrorism could not be defeated easily but expressed hope that the next generation would be able to “live comfortably.”

He said Islamic State, the extremist group that threatens Jordan’s borders, has been establishing operational hubs in Mindanao.

“Terrorism is the scourge of mankind today and it will take us a lot more years to stop it,” the President said.

Duterte thanked Abdullah for providing military equipment to the Philippines and promised to boost relations with Jordan.

Jordan has agreed to provide two used Cobra attack helicopters to the Philippines, a development that officials said would enhance the military’s drive against terrorism and other security threats.

The helicopters are expected to be delivered in July next year after the nine-month training of Filipino pilots. Jordan also vowed to provide rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

In a business forum held hours after his working lunch with King Abdullah, Duterte expressed readiness to provide Jordan troops if needed.

“I guarantee that we will be friends and we will nurse and nurture it fully so that someday my people can say that you paved the way for the good relationship. If you are short of your army, let me know,” Duterte said.