‘Trump may visit PH in November’
MANILA – Ambassador Marciano Paynor on Tuesday said United States President Donald Trump had indicated t hat he would visit t he Philippines for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meeting with dialogue partners in November.
Paynor is the Director- General for Operations of the Asean 2017 National Organizing Council.
“As of now, President Trump for instance, when President Duterte called him up to congratulate him, had already indicated that he was coming in November. So at least verbally he said he was coming. I am almost sure that the nine other Asean member states will also be coming back in November,” he said in a press briefing in the Malacañang on Wednesday.
He added that the usual dialogue partners China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand never miss any of the Asean meetings. Other dialogue partners are Russia and India.
“Multilateral meetings of this sort, we usually expect 100 percent attendance. And many of the leaders who do not attend do so because they have internal issues and – which prevents them from coming,” Paynor explained.
“So, there will be one or two who may not be able to come but this is because of, let’s say, internal issues with their individual countries,” he added.
Duterte congratulated Trump on his election victory over the phone on Dec. 2. (