HM King Hamad receives Philippines President

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received President Rodrigo Roa Duterte of the Republic of the Philippines and the accompanying delegation, currently on an official visit to the country, at Sakhir Palace 
An official reception was held in honour of the Philippine President. The two leaders headed to the podium of honour, and the national anthems of the two countries were played. They inspected the guard of honour lined up to salute them.
HM the King and the Philippine President held talks on expanding cooperation in all fields. 
HM the King praised the Philippine leader's keenness on developing bilateral relations in the interests of both countries and their peoples. 
Then, the two leaders held official talks in the presence of the delegations of the two countries. 
A number of agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed in the following areas:
A Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a Joint High Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of the Philippines. Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa represented Bahrain in the signing ceremony and Philippine Acting Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo represented the Philippine side. 
A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Foreign Service Institute of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Affairs Minister and Philippine Acting Foreign Secretary signed the MoU. 
A Protocol on amending articles of the agreement between Bahrain and the Philippines on the Avoidance of Double Taxation signed by Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and the Philippine Acting Foreign Secretary. 
A draft Protocol on the agreement on regulating air transport services between Bahrain and the Philippines was signed by Transportation and Communications Minister Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed and the Philippine Secretary of Transportation Arthur Tugade. 
HM the King and the Philippine President welcomed the agreements that will boost bilateral relations in the interest of the countries and their people. 
HM the King stressed the Philippine President's visit represents a significant step towards strengthening bilateral relations and broadening cooperation in various areas, mainly trade, economic and investment.
HM the King emphasized the role of the Joint High Commission on Bilateral Cooperation in promoting bilateral cooperation and holding joint investment ventures to contribute to the further expanding trade exchange. He highlighted Bahrain's suitable investment environment and flexible laws that have attracted leading world banks and companies to establish their headquarters in Bahrain. 
HM the King expressed appreciation of the contributions of the Philippine community to development in Bahrain and commended the Philippines achievement in economic and development fields at the Asian level. 
Regional and international developments as well as topics of mutual interest were also discussed. 
President Duterte thanked HM the king for the gracious reception and hospitality, lauding HM the King's keenness on boosting Bahraini-Philippine relations. 
He underlined his country's eagerness to further bolster friendship relations with the Kingdom of Bahrain, commending the development seen by Bahrain and the policy of openness adopted that contributed to bring progress and prosperity. 
A dinner banquet was hosted by HM the King in honour of President Duterte and the accompanying delegation. 

Source :BNA