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Helen Flores - The Philippine Star
January 15, 2026 | 12:00am
President Marcos greets the Filipino community in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos returned yesterday from his two-day working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he witnessed the forging of two key agreements designed to strengthen trade and defense cooperation with the Middle Eastern country.
Marcos’ plane landed in Manila at 11:28 a.m. In his arrival message, Marcos underscored the importance of the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Defense Cooperation between the two nations.
According to the President, CEPA will expand Philippine market access in the Gulf region and diversify both sources and markets of essential goods.
CEPA is the Philippines’ first free trade agreement (FTA) with a country in the Middle East.
Under the new FTA, 95 percent of Philippine exports to UAE would be covered by preferential tariffs, including personal care and cosmetic items, food products, electronic equipment, automotive and aircraft parts, textile and apparel products, Presidential Communication Undersecretary Claire Castro said.
Business groups, meanwhile, lauded the signing of CEPA.
“The UAE serves not only as a major destination for Philippine exports but also as a global gateway linking Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. With CEPA, exporters, investors and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) now have a stronger platform to grow not only in the UAE but across the wider Middle East and beyond,” Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ferdinand Ferrer said in a statement.
In a separate statement, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said free trade with the UAE is a major boost for Philippine exporters.
Marcos also met on Tuesday with top executives of DAMAC Digital to discuss its planned investments in the Philippines, including the establishment of a data center in Laguna.
Marcos, accompanied by several Cabinet secretaries, met with Hussain Sajwani, founder and chairman of DAMAC Digital, and other officials at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
During the meeting, Marcos and Sajwani discussed opportunities for collaboration in the Philippines’ digital infrastructure sector, underscoring the country’s potential as a hub for data centers, cloud services and AI-driven technologies. –Louella Desiderio, Pia Lee-Brago
