President Duterte is now eyeing to strengthen the country’s security, trade, labor, and tourism relations with Sri Lanka.
The Office of the President said these are the possible “new opportunities,” which were discussed during his phone conversation with Duterte’s Sri Lankan counterpart President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last Monday.
The event coincided with the commemoration of the 60 years of Philippine-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations.
Both leaders also agreed to cooperate in combatting the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“We look forward to sustaining this and exploring further the full potential of our cooperative ties,” President Duterte said in a news statement.
Rajapaksa invited the Philippine leader to visit Sri Lanka when the “global situation normalizes” to further discuss such undertakings.
During the phone conversation, the President also thanked the Sri Lankan government for helping in the repatriation of Filipinos, particularly those who were among the crew of MT New Diamond, which caught fire off the eastern coast of Sri Lanka last year.
For his part, Rajapakasa said he appreciated the support of the country on its position in multilateral venues.
Image courtesy of AP/Aaron Favila