President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed his gratitude to Japan for providing assistance to his administration‘s projects to help boost the country’s economy.
President Duterte acknowledged Tokyo’s support during the courtesy call of Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu in Malacañang on Thursday, according to a press statement from the Palace.
As of September 2019, Japan is the country’s top source of official development assistance with $8.64 billion in loans and grants, which makes up 46 percent of the Philippines’ total ODA portfolio.
For his part, Motegi expressed appreciation to the President’s attendance in Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement rites on Oct. 22 last year.
The Palace said Motegi also condoled with Filipinos who were hit by Typhoon ‘‘Ursula’’ and the series of powerful earthquakes that devastated areas in Mindanao last month.
Motegi, who came from Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture, represented Tochigi Fifth District to the Japanese House of Representatives for nine times.
Before his appointment as foreign minister in September 2019, Motegi served as the Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Minister in charge of Social Security Reform and Minister in charge of Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as Japan and the United States’ trade negotiations in October 2018.