PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte appears to have a tight schedule, attending one international meeting after another.
In a press briefing, President Spokesperson Harry Roque said that the President will be joining the first ever online meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders on Friday as the world grapples with the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roque said that this year’s summit will have two sessions.
The forum is expected to tackle the mothballed new vision which will guide the 21 Pacific Rim economies in the coming years, according to this year’s host Malaysia. Last year’s summit in Chile was canceled due to violent protests in the South American country.
Prior to the APEC virtual summit, Duterte participated in the virtual 37th Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits where he talked about deepening regional integration and strengthening supply chain connectivity.
At the ASEAN Summit, Duterte called for cooperation among Southeast Asian countries to ensure that their people will have access to COVID-19 vaccines.
He also actively took part in the open dialogue calling for enhanced multilateralism on COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery, climate action, and peace and security issues in the Asia Pacific, particularly the South China Sea disputes.