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MORE opportunities in infrastructure, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, health care, and education are expected as the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to expand trade cooperation and strengthen economic engagements, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.
This, after Marcos met with UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Hassan Al-Suwaidi in Malacañang on Friday to discuss the enhancement of the trade and investment opportunities between the Philippines and the UAE.
In a Facebook post, the president said this cooperation was the result of the UAE’s recognition of the Philippines’ potential as the “center of business and trade” in the region.
During the meeting, Marcos also said that Al-Suwaidi’s visit to the Philippines demonstrated both countries’ commitment “to work together more closely than we have had in the past.”
“I’m happy to see you and discover so many areas that would be possible for us to explore further,” Marcos told Al-Suwaidi.
In response, Al-Suwaidi said the UAE’s relationship with the Philippines was “very deep.” Al-Suwaidi also said that the UAE recognized the excellence of Filipinos, particularly the nurses who provided exceptional patient care in the host country.
“After having discussions today, we really don’t understand why we haven’t historically invested more,” Al-Suwaidi 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 — health care — is tremendous,” he added.
Marcos visited the UAE in November 2024 and met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, expressing gratitude for the care and respect shown to the Filipino community in the Gulf state.
During their bilateral meeting last year, the two leaders acknowledged the need to expand the Philippines and the UAE’s relations into new cooperation areas beyond traditional sectors.
On Jan. 15, 2025, the Department of Energy, the Board of Investments, and Emirati state-owned renewable energy company 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 by 2030, with a total investment of $15 billion.
The Department of Trade and Industry and the UAE Ministry of Investment on Nov. 30, 2023, signed a memorandum of understanding to develop high-capacity data center projects in the Philippines.
UAE companies such as Edgnex Data Centers have also signified plans to invest in data centers in the Philippines.
The UAE was the Philippines’ 18th largest trading partner in 2023, with approved investments from the UAE totaling P376.71 million.
From January to September 2024, the UAE was the Philippines’ 25th largest trading partner with P82.59 million of approved investments.
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.
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