By EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — Science, Digital and Current Affairs
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(SDN) — Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), 37, is set to visit the Philippines before the year ends.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) revealed this, following the quick visit of the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud on September 28-29.
Prince Faisal met with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. during which they discussed their two countries’ wide range of bilateral relations.
The official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also had a meeting with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo as they “commit to deepen cooperation” between the Kingdom and the Philippines.
DFA Assistant Secretary Alfonso Ver at the Office of Middle East and African Affairs (OMEAA) announced this today, Friday, saying the Crown Prince and Prime Minister included the Philippines in his visits to parts of Asia, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, and Pakistan.
Over the week, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques His Majesty King Salman bin Abdul Aziz in a Royal Decree made public on September 27 appointed the Crown Prince as Prime Minister, promoting him from deputy prime minister and defense minister. The prime minister post was traditionally held by the King.
King Salman’s Royal Decree per the Kenyan-post.com effected a reshuffle in the Cabinet, with Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Crown Prince’s younger brother, replacing the latter as defense minister. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, another of royal siblings retained his post as minister of energy in the Cabinet headed by the Crown Prince, who became the de jure ruler by virtue of his prime minister post.
Prince Faisal remained as foreign minister as both Mohammed Al-Jadaan and Khalid Al-Falih also kept their respective posts as finance minister and investment minister, respectively.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which count Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman as members has over a million-strong migrant Filipino community. Saudi Arabia is host to 860,000 of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the figure cited by the DFA. Other figures said the Kingdom has around one million migrant Filipinos.
Before the visit of Prince Faisal, a Filipino who once worked in a foreign embassy told SDN — Science and Digital News that Filipinos in the Kingdom were already hearing talks that the Crown Prince might visit the Philippines. The source said he learned this from a relative who arrived recently in Manila from the Kingdom.
True enough, the visit of Prince Faisal confirmed this, as revealed by the DFA.
“That’s the biggest thing that has come out of the meeting,” Ver was quoted in news reports, referring to the separate meetings that Prince Farhan had with the President and Manalo.
On September 29, the Twitter account of MOFA, @KSAmofaEN, reported on the visit to Manila of Prince Faisal, saying the Philippine Chief Executive received the Saudi official at the Presidential Palace (Malacañang).
“His Highness Prince Faisal conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to the President, the Government and people of the Philippines, and wishes for continued success and prosperity,” the MOFA tweet said.
“His Excellency President Bongbong Marcos conveyed his appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the government and people of the Kingdom.”
The MOFA tweets continued:
“During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries based on friendliness and joint cooperation in various fields.”
“The meeting was attended by the Kingdom’s Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines, Hisham Al-Qahtani, the Director-General of His Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs Office, Abdulrahman Al-Daoud.”
Meanwhile, local Muslims in the country welcomed the reported forthcoming visit of the Crown Prince to the Philippines, as they wish that he’ll also meet with their political and community leaders. (✓)