Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano Sees Stronger Partnership with Turkey

04 August 2017, Manila:  Highlighting the historic first-time visit of a Turkish Foreign Minister to the Philippines, Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano welcomed to Manila his Turkish Counterpart Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and stressed the immense potential for further growth in Philippine-Turkey relations. 

Secretary Cayetano reiterated to Minister Çavuşoğlu the Philippines' support for Turkey's application as Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN. 

Secretary Cayetano detailed the economic strategy of the Duterte administration and encouraged Turkish businessmen to participate in the economic priority projects of the country. He suggested the sending of a business delegation to Turkey and/or the conduct of a business road show, possibly during the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting to be held this year. 

Other areas identified during the meeting were as follows: joint efforts to fight against international terrorism, closer collaboration among immigration and intelligence agencies, and rehabilitation of Marawi. Secretary Cayetano thanked Turkey for its continued support to the Mindanao peace process.  

Minister Çavuşoğlu reaffirmed the importance of Turkey's relations with the Philippines and pledged to further strengthen existing mechanisms such as the Political Consultations and JEC. The Minister likewise conveyed Turkey's interest to expand relations, specifically in the fields of trade and investment and efforts to combat international terrorism. END