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Duterte thanks Biden for US COVID-19 vaccine donations

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© Screengrab from RTVM video (October 27, 2021) ASEAN-US Summit 2021
President Rodrigo Duterte has thanked United States President Joe Biden for his country’s donation of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines.

Duterte made the statement during the virtual summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Biden on Tuesday.

"President Duterte welcomed President Biden to his first ASEAN-US Summit, noting the longstanding relations between ASEAN and the US. President Duterte likewise expressed appreciation for the United States’ generous offer of vaccines for the region, including the Philippines," the Office of the President said in a statement.

"We need to further strengthen bilateral, regional and international cooperation to ensure universal access to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines," Duterte was quoted as saying by his office.

The US has so far delivered more than 24 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Philippines via the COVAX facility, the global vaccine-sharing program backed by the World Health Organization, according to the US Embassy in Manila.

Duterte underscored the need for sustained political dialogue, economic engagement and socio-cultural ties to further strengthen the ASEAN-US Strategic Partnership.

"President Duterte asserted the importance and need for ASEAN Centrality even as he acknowledged the United States’ commitment to work with ASEAN, especially on maritime security and domain awareness issues,"the statement said.

The President said arrangements such as the Australia, United Kingdom and US trilateral security partnership “must complement and not complicate our working methods for cooperation.”

Duterte also reiterated that all stakeholders in the South China Sea “must exercise restraint to avoid untoward incidents that may further complicate the situation” and for countries to abide by international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

He also called for strengthened cooperation in digital and human resource development, including technical and vocational education and training, to hasten regional and global recovery from the pandemic. — VBL, GMA News


FROM: GMA NEWS
 

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