President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in a bid to strengthen the bilateral relations between the Philippines and the Hashemite Kingdom.

Duterte was given full military honors upon arriving at Al Husseinieh Palace Courtyard, where the two leaders held bilateral meeting to broaden “cooperation in key areas to advance shared aspirations for greater peace, progress and prosperity,” according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The two leaders witnessed the signing of agreements on defense, foreign affairs, trade and labor.





The agreement on labor aims to improve the plight of about 40,000 Filipino migrant workers while the defense deal seeks to boost the Philippines’ security capabilities.

The agreement on foreign affairs, on the other hand, aims to enable the Philippines and Jordan to hold political consultations while the deal on trade seeks to enhance the two-way trade between the two countries.

The DFA said Duterte’s visit “reaffirms and renews the Philippines’ ties with Jordan,” whose diplomatic relations were established in 1957.

Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Akmad Atlah Sakkam said the two leaders also discussed the enhancement of defense cooperation between the two nations amid the increasing threat of terrorism.

The two leaders share the same vision “not to allow such radicalism and extremism,” Sakkam said.

The President is scheduled to meet with the Filipino community in Jordan on Friday. Jordan is home to 48,000 Filipino workers.