The Philippines received Monday 25 tons of dates fruits from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“We’re sharing with the Philippine people Saudi products. Dates is a special product of Saudi Arabia and we’re here to present it as gift. It’s a message of love between the two countries,” Saudi Arabia Embassy Charge d’Affaires a.i Abdullah Saad Al-Shahri said in an interview after the turnover ceremonies in Makati City.

Dates are an essential part of the Saudi diet since the ancient times.

“This is a gift from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the people of the Philippines. This is related to food but there are other gifts as well,” Al-Shahri said, referring to other projects in the country, including the operation of Filipino conjoined twin sisters Ayeesha and Akhizah Yusoph.

The sisters were separated through a surgery facilitated by the Saudi Arabian government in 2024.

Also present during the turnover ceremonies were National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Sabuddin Abdurahim, Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of the Middle East and African Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Dinno Oblena, and King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s Abdulrahman Almogren and Mohammed Alhamar. (PNA)