Members of the Filipino community welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte as he arrived in Myanmar on Sunday.

More than 200 Filipinos from Yangon went to the capital city of Myanmar, Nay Pyi Taw to meet the President on the first day of his official visit to the country, according to the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

Duterte arrived in the city at 6:08 pm local time (7:38 pm Manila time) accompanied by acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Agricuture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Sen. Vicente Sotto III, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Isidro Lapeña, and Philippine Ambassador to Myanmar Alex Chua.

Today, various Filipino companies in Myanmar will pay a courtesy call to thePhilippine President. Also, a welcome ceremony will be held in Duterte’s honor at the Presidential Palace.

Duterte will hold bilateral talks with Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw, who assumed office also in 2016. A signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on food security will also be held at the Presidential Palace.

He will later meet other high-level government officials, including State Counselor and Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

In the evening, President U Htin Kyaw will host a state banquet in honor of the visiting Filipino leader.

Philippines-Myanmar diplomatic relations are over 60 years old with ties formally established in 1956. The Philippine Embassy in Rangoon, now Yangon, opened in 1958.

Myanmar is also a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations joining the group in 1997 when the organization celebrated its 30th anniversary. (With reports from MB Online)

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Roy C. Mabasa

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]