KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof received a courtesy call from Philippine Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio today.

In a brief post on X, Fadillah, who is also Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, shared that they discussed bilateral ties and efforts to step up cooperation in a few identified sectors during the visit at his office in Wisma Asli, Putrajaya.

The courtesy call was part of Duterte’s official visit, that began yesterday in line with her duties as South-east Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (Seameo) president.

Meanwhile the Health Ministry posted on Facebook that Duterte also visited the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Setia Alam today.

The visit marked the strong partnership between both countries and showed Malaysia’s commitment to develop the prosperity and quality of life for people in the region in the fields of education and health, including through Seameo, which has 26 institutions in South East Asia, the ministry shared.

"Malaysia, as a Seameo member, has set up three Seameo regional centres, the Seameo Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics (Recsam) in Penang, South-east Asia Minister of Education Organisation Regional Centre for Special Educational Needs (Seameo SEN) in Melaka and Seameo Tropical Medicine and Public Health (Tropmed) Malaysia in Selangor,” the ministry posted. — Bernama