MANILA: President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte on Wednesday left for New Delhi to attend the Commemorative Summit of India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as well as the country’s traditional Republic Day which is celebrated with grand ceremony and a spectacular parade.

Malacanang Palace said that while in India, Duterte is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss a trade deal on the importation of cheaper medicines.

In a press conference before his departure, Duterte appealed to Middle East countries to treat overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with respect amid alarming reports on alleged abuses and suicides.

“We are poor, we may need your help but we will not do it at the expense of the dignity of the Filipinos,” Duterte stressed following the decision of the Department of Labor and Employment to suspend the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait for alleged abuses.

But the department also pointed out the suspension would not affect the departure Filipinos who hold a document called Overseas Employment Certificate for Kuwait.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it would be Duterte’s first foreign trip for this year and was scheduled to arrive in India on Wednesday evening to attend the India-Asean Commemorative Summit on Thursday and the Republic Day on Friday in New Delhi.

“The Philippines is looking forward for the outcome document dubbed as the ‘New Delhi Declaration,’ which will be released in conjunction with the Summit,” said Maria Hellen dela Vega, the head of DFA’s Office of Asean Affairs.

Duterte is to join in New Delhi his nine other fellow leaders from Asean also composed of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma).

According to DFA, the Summit proper would consist of two sessions. The first is the retreat session where the leaders are to focus on maritime cooperation.

On the other hand, the plenary session would enable the summit participants to discuss regional and international issues as well as the future course of Asean-India relations, according to DFA.