UAE projects for Sulu hailed

SULU – Governor Sakur Tan met with the religious sector to discuss the various projects pledged by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the capital town of Jolo.

UAE Ambassador Mohamed Alqataam Alzaabi

 

A provincial government photo shows Governor Sakur Tan with the leaders of the religious sector in Sulu headed by the Mufti of Sulu, Ustadz Sharif Jul Asiri Abirin. 

Tan said told the religious group led by the Mufti of Sulu, Ustadz Sharif Jul Asiri Abirin; and Ustadz Abdul Muhaimin Abubakar, chairman of the Sulu Ulama Council for Peace and Development, about the formal letter of the UAE Embassy in Manila requesting his assistance in the implementation of the projects. 

The religious leaders lauded the UAE as well as the provincial government efforts in the implementation of the proposed projects. They thanked Tan for his “unwavering support” to the religious sector. 

Tan, for his part, hailed the UAE projects and the religious community for their cooperation and strong support to the peace and development efforts of the provincial government. He did not disclose the project, but “I and the Tausug people thanked the UAE for its support to us. These (projects) are very significant at this time where we are now enjoying the improved peace and order in Sulu,” he said. 

The religious groups in the province have a strong pro-active and cooperative partnership with Tan, who always support their various programs to strengthen the morals and values of the “Ummah” or religious community and other fundamental aspects of the Islamic religion. 

The governor gave emphasis on the important role of the religious groups in the preservation and maintenance of peace and order here. 

Last April, the Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Administration and Finance, Agnes Catherine Miranda, was invited by the UAE Ambassador Mohamed Alqataam Alzaabi for a meeting at the Embassy in Taguig City. 

They discussed close coordination and collaboration between the two countries as it relates to strengthening cooperation on agricultural and fisheries trade. 

Miranda expressed the country’s interest to expand its exports of agriculture and fishery products particularly on the high value crops, which forms part of the priority of the agri-fisheries sector, and other initiatives that will further develop the Philippine’s agriculture sector. 

The Ambassador highlighted the importance of increasing trade of agriculture and fishery products to UAE considering its large trade market and strategic location in the Middle East. He specifically cited pineapples, mangoes, avocados, mangosteen and durian which are abundant in Sulu; buko juice, and tuna. 

He also offered to connect the Department of Agriculture’s suppliers to big supermarket chains in the UAE such as Lulu and Carrefour. 

The meeting was also joined by UAE First Secretary Obaid Alshehi, Department of Agriculture-International Affairs Division Assistant Chief Leah Samson and Agriculture and Fisheries Information Division Section Chief Jo Ann Grace Pera. (Mindanao Examiner)