MOSCOW, Russia – President Duterte and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last Wednesday vowed to further strengthen their bilateral relations as the two countries committed to sustaining the momentum of the two countries’ ties since Duterte last visited here in 2017.
In his opening remarks during their bilateral meeting, Duterte told Medvedev that both the Philippines and Russia witnessed how the bilateral relations between the countries improved over the last three years.
“In 2017 during my first visit to Russia, we successfully set the foundation for the bilateral cooperation. Since then, we have seen the mark of our progress in our engagement, including such strategic areas as defense and security,” Duterte said.
The President, in particular, cited the port call of BRP Tarlac in Vladivostok in 2018, the first ever by a Philippine Navy ship. “(It) was a historic milestone in our relations. This was unthinkable a few years back yet we did it and more firsts to follow,” Duterte said.
He also said that the Philippines and Russia now have consultative mechanisms where both nations explore ways to expound their cooperation in various areas, including trade and investment, defense and security, energy, and science and technology.
“We are intent to sustain this momentum. I am confident we’ll succeed as a strong commitment from both sides to bring our relations to an even greater (level),” Duterte said.
Medvedev also cited how the relations between Russia and the Philippines developed over the last few years. He said Russia is keen on improving its relations with the Philippines even further.
“The development is positive. In the half year, the trade rose twice and it’s good,” he said. “We’re interested to continue the realization of our various projects in transport, in energy, agriculture, and in various humanitarian aspects,” he added.
In a tweet, Medvedev said that Russia was interested in exploring more areas of cooperation with the Philippines.
“I am delighted to welcome President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte to Moscow. The ties between our countries have been developing at a good pace recently. Our goal is to secure this trend. We are interested in more joint projects in various fields of cooperation,” he said in his Twitter account. (Argyll Geducos)