Cayetano, Pompeo reaffirm PH-US ties in Washington

Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met at the US Department of State in Washington on June 21. / Embassy of the Philippines in Washington

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met for the first time in Washington to reaffirm the long-standing alliance between the Philippines and United States.

“Secretary Cayetano and Secretary Pompeo had an open and cordial interaction at the State Department today and we are optimistic this would reinforce the ties that bind the relations between our two countries and peoples,” Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said in a news release on Friday.

The meeting also allowed Cayetano to share the Philippine government’s “independent foreign policy” and its positions on the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea.

Cayetano also delivered a personal letter from President Rodrigo Duterte congratulating President Donald Trump for the successful summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore early this month.

Cayetano and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon also thanked Pompeo for the US assistance in Marawi City.

Romualdez said that Pompeo “expressed hope” for another meeting between Duterte and Trump. /vvp