The White House announced Monday that President Donald Trump will meet next month with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who faces heavy scrutiny amid reports his government sanctioned extrajudicial killings as part of a drug crackdown.

Trump and Duterte will meet on Nov. 14 at the tail end of a trip to Asia, where Duterte is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference in Manila. The trip will be Trump's first to the region as president and will "celebrate the 40th anniversary of U.S.-ASEAN relations," the White House said.

"The President’s travel will underscore his commitment to longstanding United States alliances and partnerships, and reaffirm United States leadership in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced in a statement Monday.

The White House in April extended an invite for the president of the Philippines to visit Trump in Washington, a move that drew criticism over Duterte's alleged human rights violations.

Trump in April offered praise for Duterte's brutal crackdown on drug trafficking, which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people and prompted concerns from the international community.

During the exchange, according to leaked transcripts of a conversation between the two world leaders, Trump praised Duterte for “an unbelievable job on the drug problem” in the Philippines.

Trump has also raised eyebrows with his warm words for other strongmen, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Trump's trip to Asia will run from Nov. 3-14 and will include visits to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Share This Post