| Azlan Othman |
PRESIDENT of the Republic of the Philippines Rodrigo Roa Duterte will make a three-day state visit to Brunei Darussalam beginning tomorrow.
Duterte will be accorded an official welcome on Monday at the Istana Nurul Iman before an audience and bilateral meeting with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.
A state banquet will also be held on Monday evening.
According to the Philippines Embassy in Brunei Darussalam, the president is also scheduled to meet the Filipino community at the Indoor Stadium tomorrow.
President Duterte will be flying to Brunei on October 16 before heading on to China on October 18, Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said yesterday.
“Both (state) visits are expected to enhance our friendly relations with both countries and to ensure them that the Philippines continue to be their partners in the region,” Jose said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
President Duterte had cancelled his official visit to Brunei Darussalam scheduled in early September following a deadly explosion in his hometown Davao City, Philippines.
President of the Republic of the Philippines Rodrigo Roa Duterte. – AP FILE PHOTO
Global port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) expressed confidence that the state visit of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the Sultanate will result in better diplomatic and trade relations between the Philippines and Brunei, it said in a statement yesterday.
Top officials from the New Muara Container Terminal Services (NMCTS) – a subsidiary of ICTSI which operates the Muara Container Terminal – will be attending the meet-the-president session with the Filipino community.
“We are hopeful that this state visit will open up more opportunities for the two countries to further develop the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
ICTSI is fully committed to be an active partner in both countries’ drive to promote economic growth, especially through sound investments in port management and development,” Christian Gonzalez, ICTSI’s Senior Vice-President and Head for Asia Pacific Region, said.
ICTSI, through NMCTS, has been successfully operating the new container terminal at the Muara port for the past eight years under the stewardship of highly experienced managers and staff, 85 per cent of whom are Bruneians.
“Given our global expertise and sound business practices, backed by international financial institutions, we can develop world class port facilities in Brunei,” Gonzalez added.
Brunei has strong defence relations with the Philippines and gives active support to the peace process in Mindanao. Royal Brunei Armed Forces and Royal Brunei Police Force personnel continuously take part in the International Monitoring Team’s peacekeeping mission in the strife-stricken island.
In December last year Brunei and the Philippines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) and multimedia.
The MoU aims to promote cooperation in ICT and multimedia initiative and help both countries’ aspiration to achieve economic and social development, connectivity and shared prosperity in the BIMP-EAGA region towards realising Asean economic integration.
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