The country's Trade and Industry chief has urged officials of the United Arab Emirates to further strengthen bilateral relations between their country and the Philippines, particularly in the industries of renewable energy, tourism, financial services, transportation, and logistics.
During the bilateral trade meeting with the UAE officials held at the Shangri-La, BGC on Friday, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual affirmed the strong bilateral trade relations between the Philippines and the UAE.
He welcomed the high-level ministerial delegations from the UAE, consisting of the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, and Minister of State Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh to discuss potential collaboration and partnership in the said sectors.
"This meeting is a testament to our shared commitment to strengthening economic ties between our nations. On the part of the Philippines, we are encouraging UAE firms to explore the country's conducive business environment as we envision achieving mutual economic growth," he told the UAE delegation.
Also, Secretary Pascual underlined the Philippines' growing appeal as an investment destination and outlined broad opportunities for collaboration across various sectors further to strengthen the economic and bilateral partnership between both countries.
He cited the strength of the growing economic ties between the UAE and the Philippines wherein bilateral non-oil trade increased by 19.4 percent in the first half of 2023, reaching $500 million compared to the same period in 2022.
Secretary Pascual also highlighted the Philippines' pursuit of boosting its halal economy aimed to grow trade and investments with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries, of which the UAE is a member.
Highlighting the country's vision of stronger economic ties with the UAE, the DTI chief emphasized, "The current administration is keen in its goal of positioning the Philippines as a prime destination of foreign investments, particularly in addressing climate change. We look forward to our partnership with the UAE government and private firms in ensuring a sustainable and resilient future for both our nations."