Visiting Philippines President Duterte Accorded Official Welcome

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who arrived Wednesday for a two-day visit to Malaysia, was accorded an official welcome at Perdana Putra here Thursday. Duterte was greeted by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak upon his arrival there at 4.30pm, and the national anthems of the two countries were played. The Philippines President then inspected a guard-of-honour mounted by 103 officers and men from the 1st Battalion Royal Malay Regiment. Duterte, accompanied by Najib (left), was then being introduced to the cabinet ministers, senior government officials and foreign diplomats present. Najib and Duterte later held talks. A Foreign Ministry statement said Duterte was scheduled to have discussions with Najib on the progress of the ongoing bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and the Philippines. The statement said the two leaders would also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. The foreign ministry said the visit would provide the opportunity for both leaders to explore ways to strengthen the existing cooperation between the two countries. Malaysia and the Philippines enjoy warm and cordial relations and cooperate on various issues of common interest at the international level. Malaysia's total trade with the Philippines in the first eight months of this year rose by 5.4 per cent to US$3.08 billion (RM13.15 billion) as compared to US$2.92 billion (RM12.48 billion) in the January to August period last year. Last year, the Philippines was ranked Malaysia's fifth largest trading partner in ASEAN, and the 10th largest trading partner globally. This is Duterte's maiden visit to Malaysia after he took office as the 16th President of the Philippines on June 30 (photoBERNAMA). --BERNAMA