President Rodrigo Duterte will leave for South Korea this month to attend the celebration of the 30th year of its partnership with Southeast Asian countries, the Palace said Sunday.
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Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo confirmed President Duterte’s attendance in the commemorative event, which will also be the biggest summit to be held in South Korea since the inauguration of President Moon Jae-in.
Busan was picked to host the summit on Nov. 25 to 26.
In a radio interview, Panelo also said Duterte and Moon would likely to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss matters important to the Philippines and South Korea.
“Trade, security, all common concern of the two countries, Panelo said when asked about possible the topics in the bilateral meeting.
The event will be the third Commemorative Summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that South Korea will host, the first in Jeju in 2009 and in Busan in 2014.
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Duterte last visited South Korea in June 2018, where he said the two countries were committed to “significantly strengthen” their partnership, especially in defense and security, trade and investments and infrastructure.
During that visit, Duterte was criticized for kissing a married Filipina during his meeting with the members of the Filipino community.
A series of side events will take place before and during the commemorative summit, including the "ASEAN Train" in which 200 citizens from Korea and the regional bloc will hop on a train to tour some of the country’s tourist attractions, including Busan, Gwangju and the Demilitarized Zone.
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The ASEAN-ROK business and start-up expo, smart city fair, exhibition on Governance innovation will also be held in a bid to encourage a sustainable ASEAN-ROK cooperation.
The ASEAN Pop music concert will also be organized before the summit.
Duterte also participated in the 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Thailand from Nov. 2 to 4, despite having muscle spasms triggered by his October 16 motorcycle accident at the compound of the Presidential Security Group in Manila.