President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will arrive here Sept. 20, her first stopover en route to her participation in the inauguration of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal on Sept. 23. The president, who will be accompanied by an entourage of about 20 cabinet secretaries and members of congress, excluding security officials and members of media, will meet the Filipino community Sunday evening at the Movenpick Hotel. A simple but significant program to be participated by community organizations and Philippine schools has been prepared for the president, whose last visit in Eastern Province was in May 9-10, 2006. The preparation of the programs by the Filipino community in Eastern Province, which included Filipiniana presentations, was coordinated by Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor and labor attaché David Des T. Dicang. “Members of the Filipino community here in Eastern Province are presenting a simple but meaningful program to show their feeling of affection and appreciation to the president,” Dicang said. Arroyo will address the Filipino community here, many of them professionals and employed in high profile industries, including oil and petrochemicals. She will most likely make a brief report on the outcome of the Emerging Markets Summit in London that she will attend on Sept. 17-18 and the agreement between the Philippines and UK to sign the mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties. The president will also orient Filipinos in Eastern Province of the latest support programs of the government to protect and help overseas Filipino workers. On Sept. 21, leading Saudi businessmen from Eastern Province headed by Sheikh Hamed Abdullah Al-Zamil, a respected businessman and chairman of the Al-Zamil Group of Companies which employs about 5,000 Filipino workers, will discuss investment issues with the president to discuss issues related to investments. Paisal D. Abdullah, director of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center, Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, who arranged the call of the top businessmen, together with Dicang, said brief discussion with the president will center on Saudi investments to the Philippines. “The president is very keen on promoting Saudi investments in the Philippines, particularly in agriculture and industry, which is why she is putting a strong emphasis in this meeting with the region's top businessmen,” Abdullah said. The Philippines has been promoting Saudi investments in the sectors of agriculture, including fisheries, industries, tourism, development of economic zones, and manufacturing. There were already preliminary discussions to develop Saudi-Philippine agricultural projects, particularly in rice production. The Philippines is also tapping investors from other GCC countries to invest in agriculture and industries, which constitute 13.8 and 31.7 percent respectively of the country's gross domestic product.
