President Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed agreed yesterday to strengthen their defence and security co-operation at the bilateral and regional level.
“President Duterte expressed appreciation for Malaysia’s sustained support for the quest for just and lasting peace and development in Mindanao,” Malacanang said in a statement after the two leaders met privately at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
“Both leaders stressed the importance of working closely together bilaterally and at the Asean to achieve shared aspirations of greater peace, progress and prosperity for the Philippines and Malaysia, and greater stability and security in the region,” the statement read.
The statement added that Duterte pointed out the need to strengthen and address terrorism and violent extremism in the Southeast Asian region.
These include transnational crimes, such as piracy, armed robbery at sea and the illegal drug trade.
The statement also said that Duterte and Mahathir renewed and reaffirmed the long-standing brotherhood and friendship between the Philippines and Malaysia.
Duterte said he wanted to visit Malaysia to congratulate Mahathir, who became the world’s oldest head of government at 92-years-old last May when he came out of retirement to run and defeat re-electionist Najib Razak.
Mahathir previously ruled Malaysia for 22 years from 1981 to 2003. The bilateral meeting yesterday happened a day after the two leaders watched the fight of Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Argentine Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur. Pacquiao beat Matthysse via technical knockout in the seventh round for the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title.