The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to expand trade cooperation to strengthen their economic relations, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Friday.

This came after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi at Malacañan Palace in Manila where they discussed a plan to enhance the two nations’ trade ties and investment opportunities.

Marcos said Alsuwaidi’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 Alsuwaidi, as quoted by the PCO.

During the meeting, Alsuwaidi said the UAE’s relationship with the Philippines is “very deep.”

Alsuwaidi also stressed that the UAE recognizes the excellence of Filipinos, particularly the nurses who provide exceptional patient care in the host country.

“After having discussions today, we really don’t understand why we haven’t historically invested more, and 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, healthcare, are tremendous,” he said.

The PCO said priority sectors for investment promotion to the UAE include agribusiness or agriculture, energy efficiency technologies and renewable energy, infrastructure or public-private partnership projects, innovation (artificial intelligence), information technology, and business process management.

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 (DOE), 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 (GW) by 2030, with a total investment of USD15 billion.

The UAE was the Philippines’ 18th largest trading partner in 2023, with approved investments from the UAE totaling PHP376.71 million.

From January to September 2024, the UAE was the Philippines’ 25th largest trading partner with PHP82.59 million of approved investments.

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 Centres have also signified plans to invest in data centers in the Philippines. (PNA)