Duterte skips Belt and Road Forum opening ceremony
President Rodrigo Duterte, left, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, walk after an opening the World Economic Forum on ASEAN, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, May 11, 2017. Some 700 people from 40 countries in the region has been attended this week the World Economic Forum on ASEAN that was held by impoverished Cambodia. AP/Heng Sinith
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte did not attend the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation in Beijing, Sunday morning.
Sought for a comment, a source told PhilStar.com that there is no official word from Malacañang on why Duterte skipped the activity.
He has previously said that air travel tires him out. The president was in Hong Kong on Saturday and in Cambodia the day before.
Palace yet to give official word why Duterte was absent at the opening ceremonies of Belt and Road Forum. Leaders now starting session.
— christina mendez (@xtinamen) May 14, 2017
Duterte arrived in China on Saturday evening to attend the forum.
Chinese President Xi Jinping led the two-day opening ceremony of the forum.
Twenty heads of state and government leaders also attended the forum, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, who both delivered speeches Sunday morning.
Aside from the world leaders, the 1,500 delegates from across the globe, include officials, entrepreneurs, financiers and journalists from over 130 countries, and representatives of key international organizations, such as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde.
The United States also sent a delegation led by Matt Pottinger, special assistant to the US President Donald Trump and senior director for Asia at the National Security Council.
Xi proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, which is named after the historic Silk Road trade route, in 2013.
"Spanning thousands of miles and years, the ancient silk routes embody the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit," Xi said in his speech.
"The Silk Road spirit has become a great heritage of human civilization," he added.
In his speech, Xi says CH ready to share practices of development. It has no intention to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs
— christina mendez (@xtinamen) May 14, 2017
— With reports from Philippines News Agency and The STAR / Christina Mendez
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