Planned Putin Manila visit to further boost PH-Russia ties, says Malacañang

MANILA, Philippines – The planned visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Manila is seen to further boost ties between the Philippines and Russia, Malacañang said on Sunday, October 27.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a radio interview that a visit by the head of state of any country would eventually lead to better diplomatic relations and cooperation in bilateral efforts.

According to news reports on Saturday, October 26, Russian ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev said that Putin accepted President Rodrigo Duterte’s invitation for him to visit the Philippines for the first time. 

However, there are no details yet about the planned visit, including when it will take place.

“Palagi ang purpose nun, ‘yung ating mga relasyon sa bawat bansa na kinakatawanan ng bumibisita sa atin, magkaroon ng improvement para ‘yung mga pangangailangan ng ating bansa at pangangailangan nila e magkatulungan,” said Panelo.

(The purpose of any visit by a foreign leader is always for relations between the two countries to improve, so that they could help each other in their respective needs.)

“At marami tayong dapat pag-usapan, security, pagdating sa mga kalakalan, pagdating sa sharing of intelligence information, pagdating sa tourism, pagdating sa exchange of scholars,” he added.

(There would be many things to talk about, like security, trade, sharing of intelligence information, tourism, and scholar exchanges.)

Duterte has made two state visits to Russia, in May 2017 and earlier this October. During is second trip to Russia, the Philippine leader told Putin that bilateral relations between their countries have achieved “remarkable progress” since he decided to pursue an independent foreign policy that seeks to forge stronger ties with non-traditional allies.– Rappler.com