President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his gratitude to Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for providing assistance to ease the surges of COVID-19 in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). 

According to the statement released by the Office of the President, Duterte thanked the crown prince on a call last Tuesday. He said that the UAE provides seven metric tons of medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and 100,000 doses of Hayat Vax vaccines to strengthen the vaccination program in BARMM. 

“We look forward to further working closely with the UAE as we continue addressing the challenges of the pandemic,” Duterte said in his statement. 

In addition, the president also congratulated Al Nahyan for the successful event of the 50th founding anniversary of the UAE and appreciated the help of UAE in providing assistance to the 600,000 Filipinos living in the said country. 

On the part of Al Nahyan, he’s looking forward to meeting Duterte to talk about the growth of Philippines-UAE bilateral relations and assured that he will take care of the Filipinos residing in UAE. He also said that he’s happy that Filipinos workers are hardworking and passionate. 

In terms of terrorism and violence, both Duterte and Al Nahyan expressed their dismay on the continuity of terrorism and violent extremism.  

President Duterte emphasized that the Philippines will cooperate internationally in battling terrorism in accordance with international law. 

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