Putin’s acceptance of Duterte invite to boost ties — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s planned visit to the Philippines is expected to further strengthen the ties between Manila and Moscow.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo yesterday said the visit would give President Duterte and Putin an opportunity to discuss ways to enhance their countries’ cooperation in areas like security, trade and tourism.

“If a head of state visits any country, the visit invigorates the relationship between the two countries. If it is nascent, it would be strengthened. If it is already strong, then it would be further strengthened,” Panelo said in a radio interview.

“The purpose of such visit is to attain improvement (in bilateral ties) so we can help each other with our needs,” he added.

Panelo said among the topics that might be discussed by the two leaders are security-related matters, including intelligence information sharing, tourism, trade and exchange of scholars. 
On Saturday, Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev announced that Putin has accepted Duterte’s invitation to visit the Philippines but did not provide details.

If things go as planned, it would be Putin’s first time to visit the Philippines. 
Khovaev made the announcement weeks after Duterte returned from his second visit to Moscow, where he witnessed the signing of P620 million worth of business deals by Philippine and Russian firms.

The government is also currently reviewing the draft cooperation agreement with Russia on the protection of Filipino migrant workers.

Khovaev said Moscow had already trasmitted to Manila its draft of the proposed inter-governmental cooperation agreement on labor force.

Although the ambassador did not provide details on the draft’s content, he said its signing would ensure the protection of both  Filipino migrant workers and Russian employers.

“We believe that it’s absolutely necessary to build a robust legal basis to build and protect the lives and legitimate interests of both employers and employees,” he said.

– With Janvic Mateo