Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28) — Regional security, trade and people-to-people connectivity.
These are some of the highlights of the joint statement of President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo after their bilateral meeting in Malacañang on Thursday.
“With nearly 70 years of formal diplomatic ties, we are drawn together yet again to renew the common commitment to further strengthen cooperation across the many areas of mutual interest,” Duterte said. “We reaffirmed the importance of our bilateral relations and signified our resolve to sustain the momentum of all our engagements, particularly in defense and security, trade and investments, agriculture, and sub-regional development connectivity.”
Related: New ferry route to strengthen PH-Indonesia trade relations
Duterte also said that both countries recognized the need to step up cooperation against terrorism, violent extremism, piracy and transnational crimes, and illegal drugs.
“We agreed to use the bilateral mechanisms and trilateral arrangements to help secure the vital waters that connect us,” Duterte said.
“We reaffirmed the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes and the supremacy of law and the primacy of rules in the behavior of responsible states.”
For his part, Widodo added that an agreement had been made to convene an Indonesia-Philippines joint working group on trade within the year.
“I am also pleased today to witness the signing of two cooperation commitment in the field of transportation, in particular the launching of Davao-General Santos-Bitung ro-ro shipping route, as well as Cooperation on Agriculture,” Widodo said.
The case of Mary Jane
Meanwhile, the case of Mary Jane Veloso was not mentioned by the two presidents in their statements.
Related: PH, Indonesia to discuss Mary Jane Veloso case in state visit
Before the bilateral meeting, President Duterte talked to reporters saying that he was planning to discuss Veloso’s case with the Indonesian president — but he made it clear that he would not demand or impose anything. He said he would stress that the Philippines would respect Indonesian laws.
Veloso was sentenced to death in October 2010 for drug smuggling. Her date of execution was initially set in April 2015 but was granted a last-minute reprieve. There was a stay order on the reprieve pending her participation in the trial on the human trafficking case of her recruiter.
CNN Philippines’ Ina Andolong contributed to this report.
