Rubio to travel to Philippines next week for ASEAN meetings
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the Philippines next week for ASEAN meetings, where he will also hold discussions with senior government officials from Indo-Pacific countries.
In a statement, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott on Friday said that Secretary Rubio will travel to Manila, Philippines, from July 19-23 to attend the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
The secretary of state will also meet with senior government officials from Indo-Pacific countries, he said. His visit advances a clear US priority: a free and open Indo-Pacific that delivers safety, security, and prosperity for the region and for the American people, Pigott said. “Secretary Rubio will use this trip to demonstrate the tangible results of the US-ASEAN partnership and to deepen the United States’ comprehensive partnership with the Philippines,” the spokesman said. Addressing an event here last month, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor announced that a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers was scheduled to take place in the Philippines.
The last Quad Foreign Ministers meeting was held in New Delhi in May.
