The Philippine Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) have teamed up to encourage Dubai-based international investors to look at the Philippines as an agribusiness destination.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana spoke on Sept. 29 to top-level executives of investment companies and other dignitaries at a major agriculture investment forum organized by the Abrahamic Business Circle (ABC) in Dubai.
The DFA said Quintana told the audience that new investments in agricultural research and development, particularly in advanced and smart technologies, can dramatically raise agricultural productivity in the Philippines.
"Climate change and the resulting typhoons, droughts, and other disruptions highlight the need for the application of knowledge and technology to achieve our vision of sustainable and resilient agriculture," she said.
"With industrialization and modernization, we can transform agriculture from a sleeping giant to being a major driver for our economy’s recovery from the pandemic," she added.
In her recorded video presentation, Agriculture Undersecretary Cheryl Marie-Natividad highlighted the rich potential of the Philippines waiting to be tapped.
She said investors can explore a wide range of agricultural investment areas such as sustainable water technologies for irrigation, smart agriculture, greenhouse technology, dairy, farming, poultry solutions and technologies, and aquaculture and fish farming technologies.
According to the DFA, the Philippine presentation was well received by the attendees and created prospects for future investments.
The ABC was formed after the signing of the historic Abraham Accords on Aug. 13, 2020, in Washington, DC in the United States, which normalized relations between the Gulf States, UAE, and Bahrain with Israel.
The ABC aims to further cooperation among countries through tolerance and business relationships.