President Duterte will return to South Korea to take part in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan at the end of this month.
Duterte is making the trip despite Malacanang’s earlier announcement that the President’s activities will be considered to give him time to heal from his muscle spasms.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said yesterday Duterte will pursue the visit to the land of K-Pop. “Yes. Tuloy siya,” Panelo said.
The Palace official added that Duterte will most likely have a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in about common concerns between the two countries.
“Most likely meron kasi ‘di ba ‘pag may foreign visit laging may bilateral,” Panelo said. “Kung ano ang dapat na pag-usapan kaugnay sa pangangalakal, seguridad, lahat ng commom concerns ng dalawang bansa na magmi-meet ‘yan ang palaging pinag-uusapan. Lagi namang SOP ‘yun,” he added.
Malacañang earlier said that they would have to consider the spacing of the President’s activities because of his muscle spasms. However, Malacanang assured that the President would pursue with his engagements inside and outside the country.
The ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit celebrates the 30th anniversary of the dialogue relations between South Korea and the regional block. Busan was picked to host the summit which will be held from Nov. 25 to 26.
Based on its official website, the ASEAN-ROK summit will be the biggest international conference that South Korea will host under the Moon Jae-in administration. It will also be the third commemorative summit with ASEAN that the country will host, the first in Jeju in 2009 and in Busan in 2014.
Duterte last visited South Korea in June 2018. Upon his return to Manila, Duterte reported that he and Moon committed to “significantly strengthen” their partnership especially in defense and security, trade and investments, infrastructure development, and protection of their nationals. (Argyll Geducos)
