President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in (R) and his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte at a press conference held in Seoul on June 4 (Photo: Yonhap/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Moon Jae-in and his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte have agreed to enhance the two countries’ economic cooperation and bilateral relations.
In a press conference in Seoul, the RoK’s presidential office said Moon Jae-in expressed his gratitude to Duterte for his support for the RoK’s efforts to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
He also noted that the two countries hold potential to boost trade and investment cooperation.
For his part, Duterte vowed that the Philippines will continue its support for the RoK government.
The Philippine leader voiced his hope that the two countries will bolster bilateral relations, while pledging to work with his RoK counterpart to “write a new chapter of cooperation, friendship and partnership in history” of the two countries.
In addition, the two leaders lauded the RoK’s decision to expand its economic development cooperation fund (EDCF) to the Philippines to one billion USD. The two sides also agreed to foster bilateral cooperation in transport infrastructure, energy and water management.
Philippine President Duterte arrived in Seoul on June 3, starting a three-day official visit to the RoK to enhance defence, security and economic relations.
In 2017, bilateral trade reached 14.29 billion USD, up 36.1 percent from a year earlier. About 1.6 million visitors from the RoK came to the Philippines, while the RoK welcomed 450,000 Philippine tourists.-VNA
