Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is slated to witness the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth $133mn in investment pledges from several Qatari companies during his first state visit to Qatar on April 15-16.
The investment pledges were the result of the Doha leg of the ‘Philippine Investments Conference’ organised in February by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) to attract investments from Qatar, said Joseph Timothy Rivera, Peza special adviser to the director general for Middle East and Northern Europe.
In his report submitted yesterday to Philippine ambassador Alan L Timbayan, Rivera said Peza is “finalising the formalities of the eight companies that will sign MoUs with (Peza) director general Charito Plaza in the presence of the president.”
Of the $133mn investment pledges, $96mn will come from three of the “approved” MoUs, said Rivera, who added that the remaining five MoUs “are still being finalised by the Qatari side.”
Earlier, Rivera said Qatari investments in the Philippines were focused on the establishment of retirement villages, economic zones, agro-industrial plantations, and in the fields of IT solutions, as well as the establishment of an ‘Islamic City’ in the Philippine island of Palawan.
Prior to visiting Qatar, Duterte is scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He is also expected to visit the UAE in May.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ... Doha-bound.
