Locsin: No details yet on Duterte’s US state visit

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. said Friday they have yet to finalize the details of President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to the United States, which may happen after the 2019 midterm elections.

Locsin said the President is “aware” of invitations for him to visit the US. However, he has yet to make arrangements as he is still busy with the campaign of his senatorial slate for the 2019 elections.

“He has been repeatedly invited to go to the United States. We have conveyed this to the President. The president is aware of it,” Locsin said.

“The exact details of the arrangements that will be made, the specific dates, we’ll have to wait for the end of the elections,” he added.

Locsin issued the remark after US State Secretary Mike Pompeo’s two-day state visit to the Philippines.

Pompeo arrived at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City around 9 p.m. on Thursday. He met with Duterte to reaffirm the alliance between the two nations.

READ: US Secretary of State Pompeo arrives in Philippines

READ: Philippines, US reaffirm alliance after Duterte-Pompeo meeting

The US State Secretary also met with Locsin at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) main office in Pasay City to discuss “issues of mutual interest.”

Locsin said they had a “very productive meeting with frank exchanges” on the two nation’s “future long-standing alliance” as well as bilateral relations and issues of security and commerce.

Pompeo’s visit to the country comes amid the Philippines’ warm ties with China, despite the latter’s aggression in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).  /ee