Abe ends Philippine visit with investment, speedboat pledge

Abe ends Philippine visit with investment, speedboat pledge (Photo by King Rodriguez/PPD/PNA)

MANILA, Philippines—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is on his way to Australia after a two-day visit to the Philippines, during which he pledged $8.7 billion worth of business opportunities and private investments along with speedboats and other counterterrorism equipment.

He left for Sydney Friday from southern Davao city, President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown. The two leaders shared breakfast of mung soup and rice cakes in Duterte’s home.

They posed for pictures with businesspeople in a hotel and attended a ceremony to name an endangered Philippine eagle Sakura, or cherry blossom, in Abe’s honour.

They ate durian fruit at the hotel’s garden as dancers performed to the beat of brass gong before sitting down for lunch.