President Rodrigo Duterte is welcomed by Singapore Minister of National Development Lawrence Wong upon his arrival at the Changi Airport in Singapore at dawn Thursday. Duterte is in Singapore for a two-day state visit. King Rodriguez, Malacanang Photo

The Philippines and Singapore have agreed to work together in the fight against terrorism and illegal drugs, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said these two topics topped the discussion between President Rodrigo Duterte and Singaporean President Tony Tan and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday.

He said that although Duterte's state visit to Singapore only intended to acquaint him with other Asian leaders, the President was able to discuss areas of cooperation between the two countries.

"We talked about a lot about the areas of mutual cooperation particularly the fight against terrorism, the fight against illegal drugs. These are basic things we both agreed to pursue and also the area of cooperation of securing our borders from transnational crimes," Yasay told reporters.

Duterte arrived in Singapore past midnight on Thursday and was welcomed by high-ranking Singaporean officials.

The President was accompanied by Yasay, Executive Secretary Medialdea, Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello, Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana, Trade Sec. Ramon Lopez, PCOO Sec. Martin Andanar, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, PNP Chief Director General Ronaldo Dela Rosa, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio Morales.

Upon his arrival at Singapore's presidential palace, Duterte was received by Tan and accorded welcome honors by the Singaporean Armed Forces.

His meeting with Tan and Lee was followed by a state banquet hosted by the Singaporean president.

On Friday, Duterte will get an orchid named after him at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

He will also be hosted to lunch by Lee and will have meetings with Singaporean businessmen. He will cap off his trip with a meeting with the Filipino community.

Before Singapore, Duterte was also in Cambodia for a two-day state visit.