Trump invites Duterte to visit White House

From Malaya Business Insight (May 1): Trump invites Duterte to visit White House

US President Donald Trump has invited President Duterte to visit the White House “to discuss the importance of the United States-Philippines alliance, which is now heading in a very positive direction.”

Malacañang and the US Office of the Press Secretary issued separate statements about a phone conversation between the two leaders on Saturday after the conclusion of the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) Leader’s meeting in Manila but did not say if Duterte accepted the invitation or if a date had been set for the visit.

The statements also said that Trump mentioned during the phone conversation that he is looking forward to visiting the Philippines in November to attend the ASEAN Summit and US-Asean Summit.

The two leaders also talked of the recently-concluded Asean Summit and the regional bloc’s concerns about the recent activities of North Korea and the threats that it posed.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said that Duterte, before the phone conversation, said that he intends to encourage Trump to exercise restraint over North Korea’s latest missile test.

A White House statement said Trump and Duterte also discussed that the “Philippine government is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs, a scourge that affects many countries throughout the world,” while Malacañang said the American leader had expressed his “understanding and appreciation” of the challenges faced by Duterte, especially on the matter of dangerous drugs.

The latest phone conversation between the two presidents, which was reportedly initiated by Trump, was their second. Last December, Duterte called up Trump to congratulate him for winning the US election.

Before Trump’s victory, Duterte had chided the US and the President then, Barack Obama, for being critical of his anti-drugs drive.

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