BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to visit Brunei from Oct. 16-18 after his initial visit to the sultanate was cancelled last month due to a deadly blast in his home city of Davao.
Duterte's visit to Brunei is part of his rounds among fellow leaders of ASEAN member states to further strengthen the Philippines' close ties with each country in the regional bloc, local media reported Sunday.
Duterte is expected to be accompanied by his official delegation, senior government officials and officials from other Philippine government agencies. Besides an audience with Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, he is also scheduled to meet with members of the Filipino community. There are about 23,000 Filipinos residing in the sultanate.
Brunei would have been Duterte's first international trip as president, before the Davao explosion prompted him to cancel the visit in September.
