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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PH, UAE eye expanded economic cooperation

PH, UAE eye expanded economic cooperation

Published Feb 7, 2025 11:14 pm

At A Glance

  • In a Facebook post, the President said this cooperation is the result of the UAE's recognition of the Philippines' potential as the "center of business and trade" in the region.

More opportunities in infrastructure, renewable energy, artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare, and education are expected as the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to expand trade cooperation to strengthen economic relations between the two countries, President Marcos said.

Marcos Alsuwaidi
BOOSTING TIES — President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. welcomes United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Investment Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi to Malacañan on Feb. 7, 2025. (Malacañang photo)

Marcos said this as he met UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi in Malacañan on Friday, Feb. 8.

In a Facebook post, the President said this cooperation is the result of the UAE's recognition of the Philippines' potential as the "center of business and trade" in the region.

During their meeting, Alsuwaidi expressed his country's commitment to working together more closely.

"After having discussions today, we really don't understand why we haven't historically invested more," Alsuwaidi said.

"Given the amount of opportunities we see—whether it's in the infrastructure, whether it's in industrial mining or telecommunication, data centers, renewables—the size of opportunities—healthcare—is tremendous," he added.

In response, Marcos said he was happy that the Philippines and the UAE are discovering more areas of possible cooperation.

Meanwhile, Alsuwaidi informed the President that the UAE recognized Filipino nurses for providing excellent patient care in his country. He also described the relationship between the Philippines and the UAE as "very deep."

In 2023, the UAE was the Philippines' 18th largest trading partner out of 230. Approved investments from the UAE totaled P376.71 million, ranking 18th in 2023, and P82.59 million, ranking 25th, from January to September 2024.

Priority sectors for investment promotion to the UAE include agribusiness/agriculture, energy efficiency technologies and renewable energy, infrastructure or public-private partnership projects, innovation (artificial intelligence), information technology, and business process management.

On Nov. 30, 2023, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the UAE Ministry of Investment signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop high-capacity data center projects in the Philippines. UAE companies such as Edgnex Data Centres signified plans to invest in data centers here.

Last month, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Board of Investments (BOI), and Masdar signed an Implementation Agreement to develop solar, wind, and battery energy storage systems in the Philippines. The project aims to achieve a total capacity of up to one gigawatt (GW) by 2030, with a total investment of $15 billion.

In November 2024, President Marcos visited the UAE and met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, expressing gratitude for the care and respect shown to the Filipino community there. The two leaders acknowledged expanding their relations into new cooperation areas beyond traditional sectors.

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