Philippines, South Korea to ink 4 agreements

June 1, 2018

The Philippines and South Korea are set to sign four agreements concerning transportation, science and technology, port, and trade, an official said on Friday.

The deals will be inked during President Rodrigo Duterte's three-day official visit to Seoul on June 3-5, first for a Philippine leader since 2014.

In a press briefing in Malacanang, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella said the Department of Transportation and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea will sign a memorandum of understanding concerning cooperation in the field of transport.

An MOU on scientific and technological cooperation will be forged between the Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea.

There will also be a loan agreement on the New Cebu International Container Port Project between the Department of Finance and the Export-Import Bank of Korea.

The Department of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Trade and Economic Cooperation will also sign an MOU.

Abella said further details of the agreements would be released after the signing.

Duterte will have a summit with President Moon Jae-in on June 4.

Abella said Duterte will assure the Korean government that justice will be done in the event the case of slain Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo will be raised.

Jee was kidnapped and killed inside Camp Crame headquarters in October 2016.

Duterte will also meet with the Korean businessmen and Filipino community in South Korea. There are about 68,000 Filipinos in the East Asian country.

The Philippines and South Korea will celebrate their 70th anniversary of bilateral relations next year. Celerina Monte/DMS