Duterte’s visit coincided with the 60th anniversary of ties between the two countries. / AFP PHOTO / AUNG HTET
(Eagle News) — Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte met with Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw at the Presidential Palace in his first official visit in Myanmar, which is expected to forge deeper bilateral ties between the two countries.
The President also met on Monday with state counsellor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi for 30 minutes, where he presented $300,000 as humanitarian support for the persecuted Rohingya people, capping his two-day official visit to Myanmar.
President Duterte was first warmly welcomed by President U Htin Kyaw upon his arrival at Myanmar’s Presidential Palace.
There were also welcome ceremonies at the Palace grounds where President Duterte wore a Barong Tagalog while Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw wore the longyi, Myanmar’s traditional costume.
The two leaders then proceeded inside the Palace, where President Duterte signed the guest book.
The two leaders then held a bilateral meeting, where the Myanmar president said he appreciates the visit of President Duterte to Myanmar.
Warm welcome in Myanmar, various agreements signed
President Duterte then thanked the Myanmar leader for the warm welcome he and his delegation had received in his first official visit to the country.
Also present at the bilateral meeting were Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., Philippine Ambassador to Myanmar Alex Chua, and Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Vicente Sotto III.
Following the bilateral meeting, President Duterte witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Food Security and Agricultural Cooperation, which was signed between the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture and Myanmar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation.
Duterte’s visit coincided with the 60th anniversary of ties between the two countries. / AFP PHOTO / AUNG HTET
President Duterte meets with human rights advocate Suu Kyi
The President also met with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the Call Room of the Presidential Palace.
President Duterte gave the noted human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner a bouquet of roses and promised to help the Rohingya people, a persecuted minority group in Myanmar, handing Suu Kyi a “modest humanitarian support” of $300,000.
“President Duterte (also) presented to the Myanmar icon a bouquet of roses and a modest humanitarian support of $300,000 for the crisis involving the Rohingya minorities in Rakhine Region,” said Piñol in his Facebook post, where he also posted photos of the two Association of Southeast Asian Nation leaders.
A Palace statement said the Philippines’ humanitarian assistance to Myanmar’s Rakhine State was the biggest donation made so far made by an ASEAN member-state to the Myanmar state this year.
Piñol said the President also invited Suu Kyi to the Philippines which the Myanmar State Counsellor said “she would consider.”
Both leaders are 71 years old. Suu Kyi has gained international acclaim for her fight for democracy in her country, and has received various honors and awards including the Rafto Prize, Sakharov Prize, Nobel Peace Prize, Jawaharlal Nehru Award, Order of Australia, US Congressional Gold Medal, and Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is an honorary citizen of many countries, including Canada, and was an honorary member of Nelson Mandela’s Elders.
Andanar said in a statement that Duterte’s meeting with Suu Kyi also touched on topics such as agricultural education and technological expertise exchange; expanded trade; educational exchange; and the possibility of Myanmar buying pineapple fiber from the Philippines.
Myanmar was also the first to help the Philippines when the country was hit by supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013.
Myanmar’s former president U Thein Sein was also the first to visit Bantayan island in Cebu after it was devastated by supertyphoon Yolanda.
Upon arriving in Myanmar on Sunday, the President was also welcomed by hundreds of excited Filipinos there who travelled for five (5) hours from Yangon going to Naypyidaw to personally see him. President Duterte met with the Filipino community on the first day of his official visit to Myanmar on March 19, 2017.
Majority of the Filipinos in Myanmar are based in Yangon and a good number of them immediately registered to participate in the Filipino community meeting upon learning the news from the Philippine Embassy in Yangon.
The President won in the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) in Myanmar, garnering 56% of the overseas Filipino votes in the May 2016 elections.
On Day 2, March 20, he met with the Myanmar President and with Suu Kyi.
President Duterte also met with Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at the Horizon Lake View Hotel.
Duterte then proceeded to Thailand after his Myanmar visit as part of the Philippine leader’s visit to the nine other ASEAN countries. The Philippines is the host this year of the ASEAN Summit.