The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates are celebrating 47 years of diplomatic ties and close high-level exchanges.
The diplomatic relations between the two countries was established on August 19, 1974.
There has been increasing cooperation between the two countries in different aspects in the past few years.
Some of the bilateral agreements signed between the two countries recently include the Memorandum of Understanding on the resumption of the deployment of household workers in March 2021.
There’s also a cooperation in battling human trafficking signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., and UAE Foreign Minister His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2019 at the UN General Assembly.
There’s also an MOU for Cooperation in the Field of Technical Vocational Education and Training between the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the National Qualifications Authority (NQA).
In March 2021, the Philippine Senate expressed profound appreciation for the compassion and friendship of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, toward the Filipino people.
On March 10, 2021, Senate Resolution No. 671, authored by Senator Richard Gordon and unanimously supported by all senators, acknowledged HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s wholehearted support for the Philippines, especially during natural disasters including the Taal Volcano eruption, and super typhoons Yolanda and Goni, to name a few.
On the occasion, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE H.E. Amb. Hjayceelyn M. Quintana said that the recognition from the Philippine Senate was a timely gift of the Filipino people coinciding with H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s 60th birthday and coincides with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee this year.
Here are some fast facts on PH-UAE relations:
Top 5 exports to UAE:
- Input or output units, whether or not containing storage units in the same housing
- Cathodes and sections of cathodes, of refined copper
- Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried
- Static converters (e.g. rectifiers)
- Storage units
Top 5 imports from UAE:
- Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude
- Light petroleum oils and preparations thereof
- Propane, liquefied
- Butanes, liquefied
- H section of iron on non-alloy steel, not further worked than hot-rolled, hot-drawn or extruded, of a height 80mm or more
Tourism arrivals to the Philippines from UAE:
2019: 15,402
2018: 16,399
Sources: Philippine Trade and Investment Center – Dubai (2019) and Department of Tourism
