President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is heading to Thailand for his first official visit next week.
President Duterte, who took office in June last year, will arrive in Bangkok on Monday and leave on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said yesterday. "The purpose of this visit is to strengthen bilateral relations between Thailand and the Philippines and set our future direction together," he said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will hold talks with the president of the Philippines, who chairs Asean this year, on Tuesday at Government House, the foreign minister said. The two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of mutual concerns, including political, economic, agriculture, energy, education and defence cooperation.
Meanwhile, deputy government spokesman Werachon Sukhondhapatipak said three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between government agencies will be signed. Gen Prayut and his Filipino counterpart will witness the signing ceremony.
The first MoU is an agreement in the field of science and technology. The second MoU concerns tourism, and the third swamp and dairy buffalo production. It is the Philippines president's first official visit to Thailand. He will meet the Filipino community and groups of businessmen in Bangkok.
President Duterte also plans to meet representatives from the Federation of Thai Industries, Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Thai Bankers Association, Lt Gen Werachon said. Ahead of his Bangkok trip, President Duterte will visit Myanmar for two days.
This is not his first visit to Bangkok since he took office. On Nov 9, President Duterte came to pay homage to the late His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away on Oct 13, 2016. He was on his way to visit Malaysia at the time.