RIYADH: President Duterte and Saudi Arabia King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud have agreed to boost their cooperation on trade and security on Wednesday in an engagement described as “a meeting between friends.” Duterte is in a three-country trip to the Middle East, the Philippines’ largest source of oil imports and the source of $7.6 billion worth of overseas Filipino workers’ remittance. He arrived in Saudi Arabia last Monday, the first time a Philippine president visited the country in eight years. The president left for Bahrain on Wednesday and will cap his Middle East trip with a visit to Qatar.
One of the highlights of Duterte’s three-day state visit here is his meeting with King Salman in the monarch’s private residence. “The president and King Salman met and had a productive discussion. They acknowledged that the president’s visit here will strengthen the Philippines’ relationship with Saudi Arabia. They discussed possible areas of cooperation on the economic, trade and security areas,” Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said at a press conference. “It was more of a meeting between friends. On the whole, there was a very good rapport,” he added. Manalo said King Salman informed Duterte of hs policy to create employment opportunities and expressed hopes that the Philippines would take advantage of it. Duterte thanked the king for hosting the more than 600,000 Filipino workers and thanked him for pardoning those who committed crimes.
