US State Secretary Pompeo pays courtesy call on Duterte

By ASA T. MADALE

March 1, 2019

ILIGAN CITY: President Rodrigo Duterte received US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a courtesy call on Thursday.

Accompanying government officials said the meeting covered issues to improve bilateral cooperation, counterterrorism strategy, and regional security.

The Philippine officials present during the meeting at the Villamor Airbase were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez.

The American officials who accompanied Pompeo were US State Department Senior Bureau official Patrick Murphy, State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Palladino, and US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.

Earlier, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. hoped that the brief meeting would boost further the long-time defense alliance between the Philippines and the US. 

Pompeo, who accompanied President Donald Trump in his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, proceeded to the Philippines to meet President Duterte. 

During his two-day visit, Pompeo is also scheduled to meet with Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin to discuss areas of mutual interest. (With a report from PCOO/RSP)