MANILA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday launched a ferry route that will connect the two countries.

Widodo, who was in Davao with his First Lady Irania for the launch, said he expects the new roll on-roll off (Ro-Ro) Davao-General Santos-Bitung (Sulawesi, Indonesia) route to boost trade in the regions.

The Indonesian president said he knows the importance of giving opportunities to those in the provinces because he too, like Duterte, was a mayor of a city away from his country's capital.

"President Duterte and I sincerely believe that people in the outer

regions are just as smart, strong and resourceful as the rich people in the capital cities. They only need one thing and one thing only. And that is to be given a chance," Widodo said in a speech.

For his part, Duterte said he expects the new Ro-Ro route to boost trade and tourism for both countries on the way to building an integrated ASEAN market.

The Philippine president said the Davao-General Santos-Bitung is just the first of the many Ro-Ro networks to be formed for ASEAN countries.

"This route shall be the first of many routes to be formed for the international Ro-Ro network envisioned by our ASEAN leaders to provide more accessibility and opportunities for our countries," he said.

The newly opened route is expected to cut shipping time of transporting goods from the usual 5 weeks to 2-3 days, reducing logistical cost in the process.

Duterte also called on the private sector to help promote the Davao-General Santos-Bitung route.

"This route will help us realize our collective goal of creating an integrated regional market that will complement our own infrastructure of modernization program," Duterte added.