His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday held talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on means to bolster bilateral ties, and on regional developments.

During talks attended by His Royal Highness Prince Ali bin Al Hussein and a number of senior officials on both sides, discussions covered the need to develop Jordanian-Filipino cooperation in the economic, investment, tourism, energy, mining, and military fields, as well as the importance of coordination and consultations between the two countries over issues of mutual concern.

King Abdullah and President Duterte agreed on the importance of building on the strong ties of friendship between the two countries, spanning over 40 years.

The two sides discussed the investment opportunities and investments offered by Jordan’s economy, as well as the potential of the Kingdom’s strategic location as a gateway into global markets and its free trade agreements with other countries.

Speaking at the start of the expanded talks, His Majesty welcomed President Duterte.

“If you’ll allow me on behalf of myself, my family, the government of Jordan and the people of Jordan to welcome you to Jordan on this historical occasion… as the first president of the great nation of the Philippines [to visit Jordan]… we are delighted to have you and your esteemed colleagues here,” the King said.

“I am confident that your presence here will really give us momentum into the future on so many fields, and I believe that this is a new era of cooperation,” His Majesty added.

“Earlier today, this was translated through agreements that were signed to advance our relations between government bodies, but also the people-to-people aspect,” the King said.

“I am really delighted that there are also members of the business delegation here in Jordan… and I hope that this is an opportunity for me then to be able to come back to visit your country, not only with our government officials, but to bring also the Jordanian private sector to look at the tremendous opportunities that your country has to offer,” His Majesty noted.

“Sir, I think one of the main things that bind us together is the scourge of terrorism, which is a challenge for our region and your region, for your country and my country,” the King said.

“Over the past… year or two, the cooperation between our two countries to fight the evil that you have to suffer in your country as we suffer in ours, I think is a testament to the international cooperation and coordination that is now becoming much more apparent,” His Majesty added.

“This is an issue that is going to last with us not only to the next five to 10, 15 years—hopefully, the military aspect… will be very quick—but it’s going to take us a while to overcome the prejudices and the mentalities that these very horrible, evil people perpetrate in your region and in mine,” the King noted.

For his part, President Duterte highlighted the strong ties between Jordan and the Philippines, stressing his commitment to enhancing them.

“First I’d like to thank you and the state of Jordan for inviting me to be here with my members of the Cabinet and officers of the government,” President Duterte said.

“Second, I would also like, most profoundly, to thank the people of Jordan for hosting so many thousands of Filipinos to earn their living,” he added. “I also thank your kindness [and] benevolence. I have heard they’ve been treated very, very well, and so I am very happy also to hear that.”

“Our concern against terrorism brings us here… Terrorism is the scourge of mankind today and it will take us a lot more years to stop it. I really do not know how long, but… I hope that it will maybe end, not so much with this generation, but with the next generation for them to live comfortably,” President Duterte said.

“I would like to assure you that we have come here to pledge our friendship, our cooperation, to you,” the president added.

Talks covered current regional developments, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

His Majesty stressed the need to reach a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution, guaranteeing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in peace and security.

Discussions also covered efforts to fight terrorism. The King called for stepping up and coordinating regional and international efforts to fight terrorism and extremist ideologies within a holistic approach that addresses military, security, and ideological aspects.

On the sidelines of President Duterte’s visit, the two countries signed memorandums of understanding on political consultations between the two countries’ foreign ministries, defence cooperation between the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army and the Department of National Defence of the Philippines, and labour cooperation.

A cooperation framework on the employment of domestic workers was also signed, in addition to a memorandum of understanding between the Jordan Investment Commission and the Board of Investments of the Philippines, and an agreement between the Jordan Maritime Commission and the Maritime Industry Authority of Philippines.