MANILA (UPDATED) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been invited to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this year, Malacañang said Wednesday.

UAE Ambassador to the Philippines Mohamed Obaid Salem Alqataam Alzaabi relayed the invitation to Marcos during his courtesy visit to the President on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Marcos said he hoped to attend the conference, saying he considers climate change "a primordial issue."

"We were talking about precisely COP 28, I hope to be able to attend because climate change is a primordial issue when it comes to the Philippines," Marcos told reporters at the sidelines of a trade forum in Taguig City.

Aside from attending the summit, the President said he also plans to renew the country's ties with UAE during his possible visit to Dubai, noting that many Filipinos work and live in the Arab country.

“Kaya’t kailangan makatiyak tayo na patuloy ang kanilang magandang pagtrato sa ating mga kababayan sa UAE," he added.

(We have to make sure that our fellow Filipinos in the UAE are treated well.)

Also known as the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Climate Change Conference will be held in Dubai's Expo City from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.

The summit was first held in 1995 in Berlin, with its most recent edition held in Egypt last November. During last year's meeting, participating countries agreed to a "loss and damage" program, where richer countries pay compensations to poorer countries affected by climate change.

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS

During his visit to Malacañang, Alzaabi reaffirmed the UAE government's support for the Philippines' environmental and economic programs.

The Emirati envoy told Marcos that his country was looking forward to the Philippines becoming a member of the Global Mangrove Alliance, which would help the country weather natural disasters and sustain abundant waterways.

Marcos said that while the country was "very pleased" to join the alliance, he wanted to study its structure and the Philippines' commitment to it first.

"The preservation of the mangroves is a very big issue. It is a very important point for the Philippines because of all the waterways that we have,” he said.

“We have made great efforts to preserve and restore our mangrove ecosystem. As a matter of fact, the law in the Philippines is, you cannot touch mangroves at all, and because of that, the mangroves have grown back,” he added.

MAYON EFFORTS

Marcos also thanked Alzaabi and the UAE for extending aid to families affected by the ongoing unrest of Mayon Volcano in Albay.

The President vowed that he would "gladly inform" residents in Albay of the UAE government's assistance.

Malacañang did not disclose additional details on the aid the Emirati government gave.

For their part, UAE officials assured that they were "more than willing" to provide any assistance to the Philippines at all times.

“Thank you. That is very, very generous of you,” Marcos said in response.

Around 17,000 people have fled their homes as Mayon's unrest continued, the local government said on Thursday.

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