MOSCOW, Russia – President Duterte arrived here early Wednesday (Russia time) to begin his five-day official visit highlighted by his bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the conferment of an Honorary Doctorate.
Duterte arrived at the Vnukovo International Airport here at 3:25 a.m. (Moscow time). He was greeted by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr., Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta and Philippine Defense Attache to Russia Dennis Pastor.
He was also welcomed by Deputy Director of the State Protocol Department Andrey Igorevich, and Third Asian Department Deputy Director Anatoly Borovik.
Duterte left the Philippines Tuesday afternoon and arrived here onboard PR 001. This is his second visit to Russia since he became president in 2016. His first visit in May 2017 was cut short because of the war in Marawi City against ISIS-inspired terrorists.
Duterte will start his official duties on October 2 with his bilateral meeting with Medvedev. It will be followed by a courtesy call on Rosneft (Global Public Oil and Gas Corporation) CEO Igor Sechin.
Duterte is set to have his bilateral meeting with Putin in Sochi on Thursday.
This will be Duterte’s fourth time to speak with his Russian counterpart.
The two of them first met in November 2016 at the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Peru, followed by their meeting in Russia in May 2017, and then at the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam in November last year.
The two leaders will witness the signing of several agreements between the Philippines and Russia. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had earlier said that agreements to be signed will cover practical areas of cooperation such as culture, health, basic research, among others. It was earlier reported that a labot agreement will also be signed during the visit.
Duterte is also set to have a bilateral meeting with King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein in Sochi on Thursday. This will be the second time Duterte will get to speak with the Middle Eastern monarch. They first met during Duterte’s state visit to Amman, Jordan in September last year.
Duterte will then speak at the Forum of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi about any subject related to the theme “The World Order Seen From The East.”
Duterte is expected to give his perspective or vision of the world order and how this relates to Philippine foreign policy. It was also said that Duterte may include in his speech an explanation of his independent foreign policy and an overview of how important Philippines-Russia relations are.
Meanwhile, Duterte is set to receive on Saturday an Honorary Doctorate (Honoris causa) from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations University (MGIMO), one of the most prestigious and leading academic institutions in Russia in the area of diplomacy and international affairs.
The DFA earlier said that Duterte would also give a brief lecture and meet chess Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov at the university. (Argyll Geducos)
