Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo received his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the fifth day of his visit to Manila, where he arrived Monday for Southeast Asian nation talks. Manila was the venue for the annual ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) summit from July 30 to August 2.
Romulo also said Russian nationals would be allowed to visit the country without visas for a maximum of 21 days, a move that should improve tourism between the two countries.
"We are grateful to the Philippine government for the decision," Lavrov said at a news conference.
A bilateral interdepartmental agreement was also signed in the ministers' presence on countering drug trafficking.
Russia and the Philippines established diplomatic relations on June 2, 1976. The last visit of a Russian foreign minister to the Philippines was in December 2002.
