The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan has visited the Philippines for a courtesy call with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Malacañang Palace on June 04, 2024.
During their meeting, President Marcos and Sheikh Abdullah expressed interest in strengthening the relations between the two countries.
Sheikh Abdullah expressed a strong interest in increasing trade relations between the UAE and the Philippines. He commended the Philippines for its welcoming attitude towards investors and emphasized the UAE’s desire to engage in more substantial trade and finalize agreements with the country.
“Our relationship is growing, but not enough. We could do much better. It could be much better because I think we have an interest to further enhance it. But also the Philippines has shown that it’s been welcoming investors, we would like to do more trade, and to finalize and sit down with the Philippines,” Sheikh Abdullah told the President.
He also thanked the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the UAE for their valuable contribution.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his gratitude to the UAE government for its excellent treatment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), as well as for its assistance and kindness.
“And I hope that we are able to reciprocate somehow because we are very grateful for the assistance that you have done in terms of the crisis (that we face here) in the Philippines and then, especially to our Filipino nationals who are working in the Emirates,” President Marcos said.
In his social media post, the Philippine President added: “Over our 50 years of diplomatic ties, we have built a very close relationship with the UAE, and we are eager to see it grow even stronger. We greatly appreciate your visit, Your Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister.”
– with inputs from Philippine News Agency
