Duterte to have bilateral talks with around 2 to 4 leaders at Apec—DFA exec

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

President Duterte will only have time for bilateral talks with “around two to four” other world leaders during his maiden appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders Meeting in Lima, Peru this week.

The prospect of another engagement with outgoing US President Barack Obama at the Apec Economic Leaders Meeting on Nov. 19-20 is possible but not certain, according to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Senior Special Assistant Leo Lim-Herrera.

“If they are in same place, any meeting is possible,” he told reporters in a pre-departure briefing at Malacañang. “Right now, we’re ready for any short-term requests from either side or arrangement. I cannot confirm or deny if that will be possible.”

Lim-Herrera was tight-lipped about the identities of the leaders Mr. Duterte was scheduled to meet. He also would not confirm if there was a chance the President would be able to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom the former had expressed admiration.

“As far as we know we didn’t make any request for a sit-down but we always welcome opportunities to meet with leaders of the world. Many know who are key players of the region and the President has taken the effort to meet key players in the region,” he said.

READ: Palace: Duterte to attend Apec summit in Peru… for now

Besides the arranged meetings, Lim-Herrera said there would be plenty of other opportunities for interactions between and among the leaders at the annual trade summit.

“In all the meetings of this nature, there are pull-asides, and conversations if and when the President sits beside another world leader either at dinner or some of the other platforms in the Apec,” he said.

Lim-Herrera said Apec would provide Mr. Duterte a bigger stage “to showcase both his mystique and agenda for the country,” and allow himself to be heard “free of biases or any slant.”

“This is an important opportunity for other economic leaders to listen from the President himself talk about his advocacies that relate to many agenda of the Apec,” he said.

“That is one of the key takeaways: the opportunity to present both the administration’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda as it relates to agenda of Apec,” the official said.

Mr. Duterte’s travel to the South American country would be his ninth foreign trip since he was sworn in as President on June 30.

He has visited Laos, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. He also attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Vientiane, Laos, in September.

Apec is an economic, trade and investment forum among 21 Pacific Rim countries, including the Philippines, the United States, China, and Russia. It’s a year-long series of discussions that culminate in the Economic Leaders Meeting.

The member economies of Apec account for approximately 40 percent of the world’s population, an estimated 55 percent of world GDP, and about 44 percent of global trade.

Established in 1989, with the Philippines as a founding member, Apec has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across Asia Pacific in a bid to create efficient domestic economies and dramatically raise exports.

Last year, Apec, whose location rotates annually among its members, was hosted by Manila, Philippines under the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III.

In the Manila summit, the Apec leaders agreed to raise opportunities to build inclusive economies in order to make economic growth felt broadly by more sectors in society.

They acknowledged uneven global growth and the presence of risks and uncertainties in the global economy, agreed to set forth policy enablers for the integration of micro, small and medium enterprises in regional and global markets. JE