President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. arrived from the 29th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in Thailand, bringing home the promise of employment opportunities for Filipinos in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to reporters in Bangkok on Saturday before leaving for Manila, Marcos said he and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman discuss possible employment opportunities.

Marcos, quoting Salman, said the forthcoming building boom in Saudi Arabia is bigger than in the 1970s.

“That’s not a building boom. The one that’s coming is the building boom. That’s nothing compared to what we are going to do. So we will need more workers,” Marcos quoted Salman as saying.

During their bilateral meeting on Friday, Marcos said Saudi Arabia will settle unpaid claims of 12,000 Filipino workers who worked in Saudi companies which declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.

The Saudi government will allocate 2 billion Saudi Riyal for the purpose.

Marcos said more talks are needed on the matter about oil supply '' but ''fertilizer would probably be easier and we may be able top get some from them.''

In his arrival speech at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City last Saturday evening, Marcos said APEC gave countries the chance to share their inputs on common global issues such as climate change, supply chains, food supply, digitalization, and empowerment of women.

"And it was a very useful and productive process because as I said, we now have a way forward for all of us members of APEC," Marcos said.

He noted the initiatives will be important for APEC to "return to its old role as a driver of the global economy."

Marcos said the Philippines was able to forge collaborations with Canada and New Zealand on trade, and possible partnerships with Australia, China and France on nuclear energy and agriculture. DMS