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MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte wished Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a “quick and complete recovery” during a phone call on Monday, Malacañang said after the Japanese leader announced plans to resign for health reasons.
Duterte had a “warm and productive” 25-minute phone call Monday afternoon with Abe, where the Philippine leader thanked the Japanese prime minister for the East Asian nation’s help in various areas such as infrastructure and defense.
“President Duterte personally expressed his best wishes for the speedy and full recovery of Prime Minister Abe and expressed his appreciation for the prime minister’s valuable contribution to strengthening the Philippines-Japan Strategic Partnership,” Malacañang said in a statement.
Abe announced his plans to step down on August 28, saying that he is suffering from a recurrence of ulcerative colitis that forced him to interrupt a first term in office and that he no longer felt capable of continuing as prime minister.
Duterte, according to a statement from the Palace, also expressed his intention to seek “robust” economic ties with Japan. Abe, according to Malacañang, for his part assured Duterte of Japan’s commitment to strengthen its ties with the Philippines.
“Both leaders recognized the value of the Philippines-Japan Strategic Partnership and the relationships of ‘closer friends than brothers,'” Malacañang said.
Abe was the first world leader to visit Duterte in the Philippines in 2016 when the latter took office. The Japanese leader also accepted his invitation to visit his home in Davao city in 2017.
