DA NANG /Vietnam/, November 10. /TASS/. Russia is ready to step up military-technical cooperation with Philippines, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Rodrigo Duterte on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Vietnam.

"I remember you being forced to cut short your visit to Russia due to terrorist attacks in your country, and I remember you telling me that you have to establish order, to attack those terrorists," Putin said.

"I would like to congratulate you on having done this," he added.

According to Putin, tackling terrorism is one of the main challenges for both countries.

"In this respect, as has been agreed, [we plan - TASS] to step up cooperation, particularly in the military area, military-technical field, and of course we should put more focus on economic ties," he said, adding that though the economic relations between the two countries are rather weak, an upward trend has emerged recently.