Migrant Workers Affairs Undersecretary Meets with UAE Foreign Ministry Official on Trafficking, Migration Issues

Undersecretary for Migrant Worker Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola (leftmost) discusses with UAE counterpart Undersecretary Khalid Abdullah Humaid Belhoul, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) (rightmost) how both countries can combat human trafficking. (MoFAIC-UAE photo)

ABU DHABI 12 December 2019 –– Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola met with Khalid Abdullah Humaid Belhoul, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the MoFAIC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, on 27 November 2019, to discuss bilateral issues, particularly on the topics of migration and human trafficking.

Undersecretary Belhoul welcomed the visit noting that it provides an excelllent opportunity for the two countries to move forward with the PH-UAE Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Combatting Human Trafficking signed on 19 September 2019 in New York.

Undersecretary Arriola expressed the Philippines’ support for UAE’s hosting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in 2020. She also said that both the Philippines and UAE would benefit from closely working together in putting a stop to illegal recruiters and human traffickers who promise jobs to Filipinos, mostly females, through tourist visas. 

On his part, Undersecretary Belhoul welcomed the consultations and took note of the Philippines’ initiatives, noting that the Philippines and UAE should maximize the benefit from existing bilateral arrangements by activating them through practical measures.

Undersecretary Arriola was accompanied by Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn M. Quintana, during the meeting. Ambassador Quintana shared the Embassy initiative that encourages trafficking victims to file cases against illegal recruiters, through the Interagency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), upon their repatriation. END

Undersecretary for Migrant Worker Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola (fifth from right) and UAE counterpart Undersecretary Khalid Abdullah Humaid Belhoul, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC)(fourth from right) with their respective delegations at the meeting: Ambassador Hjayceelyn Quintana (seventh from left), Consul General Marford Angeles (fifth from left) and OUMWA Principal Assistant Angel Tolentino (fourth from left) for the Philippine side and Dr. Khaled Al Mazrouei, Advisor to the Foreign Minister on International Cooperation and Assistant Undersecretary on Consular Affairs (sixth from left), Director of Foreign Nationals Department Mohammed Al Qatam (third from right) and Director of the Department of East Asia and the Pacific Ahmed Al Hay Al Hameli (not in photo) as well as other officials from the same Department in MoFAIC, for the UAE side. (MoFAIC-UAE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.abudhabipe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinUAE/.