MANILA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will embark on a state visit to the Middle East from April 10 to 16, a government official said on Friday.
Duterte will meet with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar, as well as overseas Filipino workers in those countries, Foreign Assistant Secretary Hjayceelyn Quintana of the Office of Middle East and African Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs told a news conference.
The trip aims to "strengthen efforts for the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of the more than 1 million of our people working in those three countries," Quintana said.
It is also aimed at "inviting investors to the Philippines and usher in progress here at home," and to "forge stronger partnerships by elevating our political and economic cooperation with these countries to new heights," Quintana said.
Quintana said the Middle East remains an important region for the Philippines despite the economic challenges that region is facing due to reducing revenues amid low oil prices.
There are 760,000 Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, 60,000 in Bahrain and about 200,000 in Qatar.
