By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA
MANILA — A ranking official from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is embarking on a two-day official visit to the Philippines until Tuesday (March 26) to explore cooperation with Manila in agriculture and food sciences, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
UAE Minister of State for Food Security Mariam Al Mehairi is scheduled to visit the Philippines Rice Research Institute in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, and the International Research Rice Institute in Los Baños, Laguna.
During her stay in the country, the minister will be accompanied by Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana and is expected to meet senior officials from the Department of Agriculture.
Mehairi was appointed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum in October 2017.
Prior to her appointment, she served as Assistant Undersecretary for Water Resources and Nature Conservation Affairs at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
As early as 1981, the two nations sought ways to establish stronger ties anchored on agriculture with the signing of the Protocol on Agricultural Cooperation, inked in April 1981. To date, UAE’s top import from the Philippines is banana, including plantains, dried or fresh.
