Seoul, August 12 (AseanAll) — Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo undertook an Official Visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) on 6-9 August 2024. He met with his ROK counterpart Foreign Minister CHO Tae-yul and also paid a courtesy call on South Korean Prime Minister HAN Duck-soo.
Manalo, in his meetings with PM Han and FM Cho, underscored the significant strides made in advancing and deepening cooperation between the Philippines and the ROK, which marked the 75th anniversary of the formal establishment of diplomatic relations in March this year.
Manalo and CHO Tae-yul acknowledged the need to fast track the work on the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Korea, which would guide the future direction of the two countries' growing relationship. It was an important highlight of Secretary Manalo's visit.
Manalo, in his meetings with PM Han and FM Cho, underscored the significant strides made in advancing and deepening cooperation between the Philippines and the ROK, which marked the 75th anniversary of the formal establishment of diplomatic relations in March this year.
Manalo and Cho acknowledged the need to fast track the work on the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Korea, which would guide the future direction of the two countries' growing relationship. It was an important highlight of Secretary Manalo's visit.
Manalo and Cho further discussed wide-ranging areas of mutual concern such as political, defense, security, economic and development cooperation, as well as people-to-people ties. They exchanged views on regional and international matters including ASEAN-ROK relations, the Korean peninsula, South China Sea, the situation in Myanmar, and multilateral cooperation.
Also during the visit, Manalo spoke at a roundtable discussion at the Seoul National University (SNU), engaged with the local media, and met with the members of the Filipino community. Finally, he visited the Joint Security Area (JSA), which is the only portion of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where officials from both sides of the Peninsula could stand face-to-face.
