MANILA: The Philippines is ready to deepen its economic partnership with the UAE, Manila’s special envoy has said, as the visit of a business delegation from Dubai concluded this week.
Dubai Chambers organized a business forum in Manila on Wednesday as part of its “New Horizons” initiative. With its delegation visiting the Philippine capital, the business body had organized at least 180 bilateral meetings.
The event also saw Dubai Chambers and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry sign a preliminary agreement aimed at strengthening trade and investment ties through various efforts, including sending trade missions and organizing business-matching missions.
“The Philippines is open, ready, and eager for stronger trade and business ties with the UAE,” Kathryna Yu-Pimentel, the Philippines’ special envoy to the UAE for trade and investment, said during the forum.
“Last year, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the UAE — a golden milestone. Today, we look ahead with even more optimism.”
The UAE is a key trading partner of the Philippines in the region. In 2023, non-oil bilateral trade between the Philippines and the UAE reached over $1 billion. The Gulf state also ranked as the Philippines’ top export market among the Gulf Cooperation Council nations, and its 17th largest trading partner globally.
It is also home to the second-largest Filipino diaspora after Saudi Arabia, with some 700,000 overseas Filipino workers living and working in the UAE. Many are employed in the construction, healthcare and hospitality sectors.
“This upward trend will only continue, especially with the anticipated signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the Philippines and the UAE next month,” Yu-Pimentel said.
“This will be historic in the sense that it will be our first free trade agreement with a Middle Eastern country.”
The expected development will follow President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first trip to Abu Dhabi in November, during which he met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
The two leaders committed “to deepening cooperation in various areas, including economy, trade and sustainability” during their meeting, which included discussions on the bilateral trade agreement.
Negotiations on the free trade deal have been underway between Philippine and UAE officials since the beginning of 2024.
