MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Singapore’s first female president Halimah Yacob held a meeting in Malacañang on Monday, September 9, in which they discussed mostly economic cooperation.

Their meeting took place on the first day of Halimah’s 5-day state visit to the Philippines, in which she visits both the capital city of Manila and Duterte bailiwick Davao City in the south.

The visit marks the golden jubilee or 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Singapore.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of 8 agreements between agencies and ministers in their governments.

The agreements are as follows:

• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Education and Temasek Foundation International and Nanyang Polytechnic International Programme on Innovations and Teaching and Learning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) with Design Thinking 
• MOU between the Department of Agriculture and Enterprise Singapore on Agricultural Cooperation and Related Activities
• MOU between the Department of Trade and Industry of the Republic of the Philippines, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority of the Republic of the Philippines, and Skills Future Singapore Agency of the Republic of Singapore on cooperation on human capital development and rescaling and skills upgrading of workforce
• MOU between the Development Bank of the Philippines and Infrastructure Asia Singapore on knowledge sharing to support infrastructure development
• MOU between the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the Public Utilities Board
• MOU between the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Republic of the Philippines and Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth of the Republic of Singapore on Cultural Cooperation
• MOU between Infrastructure Asia and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center on assisting Philippine local implementing agencies with the development or implementation of PPP projects
• MOU between the National Privacy Commission of the Republic of the Philippines and the Personal Data Protection Commission of the Republic of Singapore on Cooperation in Personal Data Protection

Before the signing of these agreements, the two presidents and ministers or agency heads held a bilateral meeting at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room.

Afterwards, they gave their joint statements before members of the media.

Halimah thanked the Philippine government for the hospitality and “lovely arrangements” she received while in Manila.

“I told President Duterte that we deeply appreciate the contributions of the Philippine community to Singapore’s society and economy,” Halimah said of the 200,000 Filipinos living, working, and studying in her country.

She said the two countries can still do a lot to further cooperation in the “next chapter” of their diplomatic relations.

“I am confident that the next chapter of Singapore-Philippines relations will be marked by deeper friendship and closer collaboration between our peoples and our two countries,” she said.

Singapore is a big contributor to the Philippine economy. It was the 2nd biggest source of foreign investments in 2018, committing P21.18 billion or 11.8% of total foreign pledges. It is the Philippines’ 5th biggest export market, 7th top import supplier, and also the 9th top source of tourists.

Aside from speaking about boosting economic exchanges and cooperation in agriculture, education, tourism, and other sectors, Halimah expressed Singapore’s commitment to working with the Philippines in bringing about a “strong, united, and integrated” Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines and Singapore belong to the regional bloc.

Duterte, meanwhile, proudly updated Halimah about the newly created Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The formation of its government and the passage of the law that created it is seen as a major accomplishment by his administration.

“We discussed ways by which our cooperation can help contribute in bringing just and lasting peace and meaningful progress and development in Mindanao, one of the greatest and most crucial undertakings that our nation has embarked,” said Duterte.

He said he also discussed “deepening” defense and security cooperation between Singapore and the Philippines through “strengthening defense dialogues and training exchanges between the military and special forces.”

After Halimah’s stay in Manila, she will head to Davao City, Duterte’s hometown, where she will meet the President’s eldest daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. She will also dialogue with students at the Ateneo de Davao University. – Rappler.com