23 September 2015 – Philippine Consul General to Dubai Paul Raymund P. Cortes met for the first time the Director General of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), Mr. Sami Dhaen Al Qamzi, together with Engineer Saed Alwadi, CEO of the Dubai Export Development Corporation (DEDC) and Assistant Director General of the Dubai Competitiveness Office (DCO), Mr. Khalid Ibrahim Alkassim, in line with the promotion of the Philippine economic diplomacy agenda in the United Arab Emirates.
The rather engaging meeting included discussions on how to further promote trade relations between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates, initial talks on the possibility of Dubai investment in Philippine human resource particularly qualified Filipino medical professionals to Dubai and exchange of business visits of potential food and consumer goods franchises.
Director General Qamzi noted the friendly business relations between the Philippines and the UAE and expressed confidence that strides will be made soonest regarding the arrival of the much sought-after Filipino medical professionals for Dubai hospitals. Currently, there is high demand for and low numbers of Filipino medical professionals deployed in Dubai.
Consul General Cortes, on the other hand, assured the DED of the Consulate's interest and commitment to further expand bilateral business ties and draw a full calendar of investment and outbound trade missions to Dubai. END