MANILA: The Philippines aims to create jobs and improve local expertise through a new energy partnership with the UAE, Manila’s energy secretary said on Sunday as he announced the signing of a preliminary agreement between the two countries.
The Philippines and the UAE agreed to strengthen ties during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first visit to the Gulf state on Tuesday, with the two countries signing new agreements in various areas, including investment, culture, artificial intelligence and digital economy.
Energy transition was one of the key agreements signed during that trip, Philippines Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said in a statement.
“At its core this partnership reflects the mutual recognition that energy lies at the heart of development,” Lotilla said.
The cooperation will combine the UAE’s leadership in innovative energy solutions with the Philippines’ ambitious drive for energy security and sustainability, he added.
“By attracting investments in energy infrastructure, the partnership will generate new jobs, enhance local expertise through technology transfer and capacity building, and support the development of a robust energy ecosystem.”
Under the new agreement, the Philippines and the UAE plan to collaborate in areas such as renewable energy, nuclear energy and emerging technologies.
“To operationalize this MoU (memorandum of understanding), an implementation agreement with a UAE state-owned company is expected by January next year,” Lotilla said, but provided no specific details.
In earlier discussions with his Emirati counterpart, Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al-Mazrouei, Lotilla said they agreed to foster business partnerships between their two countries and to position the Philippines as a “prime destination for Emirati investments in critical energy sectors,” which includes developing new energy infrastructure and renewable energy projects.
Manila has been exploring clean and sustainable options to generate power because the country regularly suffers outages and faces high tariffs. Coal is the main source of electricity in the Southeast Asian state, accounting for more than half of its power generation.
Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the government aims to increase the share of renewable sources in the energy mix from 22 percent currently to 50 percent by 2040.
