MANILA – Malacañang on Saturday said the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan was on “an even stronger footing” following the four-day working visit of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte hailed the Philippines-Japan partnership as one that “empowers rather fosters dependency” and was the “kind of relationship that the Philippines sought with other countries.”
Panelo added Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in infrastructure development, trade and investments, agriculture, labor, defense, maritime security and maritime domain awareness, people-to-people exchanges, and the pursuit of just and lasting peace and progress in Mindanao.”
Duterte and Abe exchanged views on regional maritime security, non-traditional threats, on-going efforts to secure peace in the Korean Peninsula, and supporting free trade.
Japan has renewed support for the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program, while pledging ₱12-billion worth of development projects for Mindanao.
“I am grateful for Japan’s fresh commitment of around 25-billion yen for the development of Mindanao’s road network, vocational training facilities and equipment, and other projects,” Duterte said.
Close to $5-billion worth of business deals, which are expected to generate 82,737 jobs, were signed during the Department of Trade and Industry business forum in Tokyo, Japan./PN
