The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on January 13, 2026, marking Manila's first free trade deal with a Middle Eastern nation and a strategic milestone in expanding the country's global trade footprint witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit.
The Presidential Communications Office announced that the agreement aims to reduce tariffs, enhance market access for goods and services, increase investment flows, and create opportunities for Filipino professionals and service providers, covering strategic sectors including digital trade, micro, small and medium enterprises, sustainable development, intellectual property, competition and consumer protection, government procurement, and technical cooperation.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque signed the pact on behalf of Manila alongside UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, with preliminary government studies indicating the deal could boost Philippine exports to the UAE by 9.13 percent while benefiting products such as bananas, pineapples, canned tuna, electronics, and machinery.
Special Envoy for Trade and Investment to the UAE Ma. Anna Kathryna Yu-Pimentel described the agreement as historic, noting that bilateral non-oil trade reached $1.83 billion in 2024, with the UAE ranking as the Philippines' 18th largest trading partner globally and accounting for nearly 39 percent of Philippine exports to the Middle East region.
The CEPA represents the Philippines' fourth bilateral free trade agreement following pacts with South Korea in 2023, Japan in 2006, and the European Free Trade Association in 2016, while also strengthening economic ties with the UAE where over 700,000 Filipinos live and work, the second-largest Filipino diaspora after Saudi Arabia according to government data.
