27-9-2023 (MANILA) Philippine President Marcos is anticipated to embark on another foreign journey, this time to Saudi Arabia.
The announcement was made by Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, who informed The STAR of the President’s upcoming state visit to Riyadh, scheduled for the following Monday. Saudi Arabia is the leading destination for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Saudi Ambassador Hisham Alqahtani confirmed the impending state visit and revealed his intent to participate in welcoming the President. While details of the trip have yet to be unveiled, Alqahtani suggested that such visits typically span two to three days.
“Our two nations have enjoyed robust relations throughout the years,” the ambassador stated.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, in 2021, 24.4 percent of the 1.83 million OFWs were employed in Saudi Arabia.
Since taking office last year, Marcos has embarked on 16 foreign trips. His most recent excursion took him to Singapore to attend the Asia Summit 2023 and witness the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2023.
During an interview following the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Thailand last November, Marcos stated that he had accepted invitations from fellow world leaders to visit their nations. However, the actual visits depended on his schedule and workload.
On the sidelines of the summit, the President held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, China, France, New Zealand, and Australia.
Following Marcos’ bilateral talks with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, Malacañang announced that the Saudi government had allocated two billion riyals, equivalent to around P30.5 billion, to cover the unpaid wages of approximately 10,000 OFWs who had worked for Saudi construction companies that went bankrupt in 2015 and 2016.
