THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to strengthening its relations with the Philippines not only in the field of labor but also in investments, security and education, Ambassador Abdullha Al- Bussairy said.
The envoy pointed out that relations between the Kingdom and the Philippines greatly improved following the state visit of President Rodrigo Duterte in April 2017.
A high-level joint coordination commission between the government of Saudi Arabia and the Philippines was formed following the state visit of Duterte in Saudi.
The ambassador, in a brief discussion during his visit to The Manila Times Tuesday, said the commission will work to expand relations beyond labor and include investment, security cooperation, education and culture.
He noted that Saudi Arabia’s commitment to improve ties with the Philippines was due to the fact that since the establishment of relations in 1969, the two countries never confronted any crisis.
Close to a million Filipinos are in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Bussairy said the Saudi government has worked to promote the welfare, interests and rights of Filipino workers, including issuing several directives to increase the deployment of Filipino workers because many companies like them.
The President met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in April 2017.
Two agreements were signed between the foreign ministers of the Philippines and KSA – one that involves the establishment of mechanisms on foreign affairs consultations and for cooperation between Philippines and Saudi foreign institutes and diplomatic academies.
Al-Bussairy said fighting terrorism is also part of the Kingdom’s commitment to the Philippines.
“One of the purposes of this high coordination commission is to form a team that will work together for the country to combat this terrorism,” he said.