BY REGINA BENGCO

PRESIDENT Arroyo on Saturday asked businessmen from the United Arab Emirates to import more consumer goods from the Philippines.

Arroyo arrived in Dubai Saturday night from Switzerland where she attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

Arroyo told the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry that further economic integration is needed if the region is to take advantage of the expanding global trade and face the challenges of the international economy.

"We import oil from Dubai... So we hope the UAE would also buy more from the Philippines," she said.

She said aside from the usual bananas, pineapples and electronics that UAE imports from the Philippines, it should also buy garments, footwear, beauty accessories, automotive parts and accessories, air-conditioning machines and furniture.

"These are products that the Philippines produces quite well and these are products that I think the citizens of Dubai and the UAE would enjoy consuming," she said.

Arroyo also urged UAE businessmen to invest in mining, energy, biofuels, infrastructure, business process outsourcing, manufacturing, and tourism in the Philippines.

She said the Philippine economic is on a path to permanent growth despite the global economic uncertainty. "We offer a strategic location...Our workforce is highly educated, skilled and English speaking," she added.

She said Moody’s Investor Service, which she described as "the often merciless credit rating agency," has upgraded the credit outlook of the Philippines from stable to positive.

She said she is pleased that Dubai World, which is involved in real estate and tourism, would be running the Port of Manila.

Before her speech, Arroyo visited the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone Authority (JAFTZA) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Under the agreement, JAFTZA will develop 42 hectares of underperforming areas in the Subic Freeport and will promote it to foreign investors.

Another agreement was also signed promoting the free exchange of information on economy between the UAE and the Philippines.

Arroyo was expected to meet with UAE’s Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz and other leaders, launch the OFW hedging facility, and have dinner with Sultan Bin Sulayen, chairman of Dubai World.

Under the OFW hedging facility program, remittance-deposit of OFWs for a certain period would enjoy a guaranteed return and a measure of protection against the fluctuating peso-US dollar exchange.

On Monday, Arroyo will give an interview with Al Jazeerah before leaving for Manila. She is expected to be back in Manila between 4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. Tuesday.