President Rodrigo Duterte has called for the gradual reopening of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) travel corridors to trade and tourism in order to restore the bloc’s respective economies affected by the pandemic. At the same time, Duterte said ASEAN countries and India should work together to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crimes through the exchange of good practices. and information. In his statement at the 14th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Zone Summit (BIMP-EAGA), Duterte said: “It is time for us to open our borders securely. to revitalize our trade and tourism sectors ”. Duterte cited the rising vaccination rates given to his population to stop the virus. “The creation of these travel corridors would allow people to enter certain territories without the need for quarantine, subject to certain requirements such as full vaccination against COVID-19,” he said. He stressed the need to revitalize economic exchanges within the region through further integration. During the summit, Duterte also stressed the need to restore air and sea links disrupted by the pandemic and stressed the importance of investing in digital infrastructure to close development gaps.

“Let us then work quickly for the rapid entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,” he said. RCEP is an ASEAN-led free trade agreement that merges its existing regional FTAs ​​with those with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand into a single economic partnership agreement . The agreement is an open, rules-based trading system that can accelerate the region’s economic integration. Speaking at the 18th Asean-India Virtual Summit, Duterte said the Philippines welcomed the adoption of the Joint Asean-India Declaration on Cooperation on Asean Perspectives on the Indo-Pacific which aims to deepen the strategic partnership, in particular in the areas of public health, maritime safety, the digital economy, connectivity and science, technology and innovation as well as the conservation of biodiversity. “Asean and India should also benefit from closer cooperation on disaster management, green recovery and smart cities. These are the vital areas of engagement in the context of climate change, ”said the President.