Ayon sa pangulo, personal niyang nakausap sa bilateral meeting sa One belt, One road forum sa Beijing, China si Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at humihirit itong maging kasapi ng ASEAN.
Maging si Mongolian Prime Minister Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat ay nagpahayag ng kahandaan na maging kasapi ng ASEAN.
“By the way, I had a talk with the President Erdoğan and the Prime Minister of si Erdenebat sa Mongolia. They also want to… Gusto nila na mag-sali sa ASEAN,” ani Duterte.
Ayon sa pangulo, tinanong siya ni Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi kung paano magiging kasapi ang Mongolia at Turkey sa ASEAN gayung kung geographical ang pag-uusapan masyadong malayo na ang dalawang bansa.
Pero paliwanag ng pangulo, ang Turkey ang nagsisilbing tulay ng Europe at Asia.
Bilang chairman aniya ng ASEAN ngayong taon, sinabi ng pangulo na nakahanda siyang maging sponsor sa entry ng Turkey at Mongolia para tuluyang maging kasapi ng ASEAN.
“And since I am now the chair, ang Pilipinas ngayon, they wanted me to sponsor their entry and I said, “Yes, why not?” Si ‘yung babae si Aung San Suu Kyi, ang sabi niya, “Have you considered the physical — the geography whether they are part of the ASEAN or not?” They are. I would say that they are. Turkey it seems to be ambivalent to whether to be a bridgesa Europe and Asia or being an Asian. Wala silang klaro diyan. There has always been an ambivalent view. Sometimes they say that they are part of Asia, sometimes they say that they are the bridge of Asia to Europe,” pahayag pa ng pangulo.