MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr said Friday he looks forward to receiving Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in a visit to the Philippines to discuss with him a wide range of issues and areas of cooperation.

“That would be very good kung makabisita sa atin si Crown Prince at hindi lamang tungkol sa mga labor, pati na ‘yung mga investments na pwede nating gawin,” President Marcos said following his bilateral meeting with the Saudi leader on the sidelines of the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) in Thailand.

“Napag-usapan namin ang energy, at dahil alam naman natin na ang largest producer ng petroleum sa buong mundo ay Saudi Arabia at tinulungan tayo ng Saudi Arabia nung ‘70s and ‘80s nung nagkaka-oil crisis. Kaya’t baka sakali naman ay tayo maaring makiusap muli na tulungan ulit tayo,” Marcos pointed out.

The Saudi Arabia government announced that it would shoulder the unpaid salaries of around 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who worked for Saudi construction companies that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.

Citing Saudi officials, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople said the Saudi government set aside two billion riyals to help displaced Filipino workers.

The Saudi Arabian construction companies that went bankrupt include Saudi OGer, MMG, and Bin Laden group. (PND)