On the development of cooperation with the Republic of the Philippines

On November 15, 2024 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a signing ceremony of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines on the waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and official passports. On the Belarusian side, the document was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxim Ryzhenkov, on the Philippines Side – by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Philippines to the Republic of Belarus with residence in Moscow, Igor Garlit Bailen.

The conclusion of the Agreement has marked an important practical result of the joint work of the foreign ministries of the two countries and occurs against the backdrop of the general intensification of the Belarus-Philippines dialogue. The draft of the Agreement was initialed in October 2024 in Manila during the first round of the bilateral foreign office consultations.

Ongoing are negotiations on furthering mutual simplification of visa rules between Belarus and the Philippines for holders of ordinary passports to create the most favorable conditions for the development of bilateral contacts not only in the political sphere, but also for businesses and tourism.

For Belarus, the Republic of the Philippines is one of the key “far arc” countries, as well as the member-state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, cooperation with which has been developing primarily in the economic sphere. Recognizing the significant potential for expanding trade cooperation, Minsk and Manila discuss opportunities to increase bilateral trade turnover, both at the governmental level and through contacts between business associations of the two countries.

The further intensification of the Belarus-Philippines cooperation was in the spotlight of the meeting between Minister Ryzhenkov and Ambassador Bailen. The parties discussed preparations for upcoming contacts and plans for organizing joint events, and exchanged views on current global and regional agenda.

The program of the visit of the Ambassador of the Philippines to Minsk includes a number of meetings with representatives of Belarusian government agencies and business entities, as well his participation in the international conference on migration that is taking place these days in Minsk.