President Marcos renewed the country's ties with Belarus, Ghana, Turkmenistan, Malta, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua as he welcomed their non-resident ambassadors in Malacañan on Tuesday, May 14.

Malacañang said on Wednesday morning, May 15, that the President discussed ways to strengthen the relationship of the Philippines with each of the countries represented by the foreign envoys:

• Raman Ramanouski of Belarus
• Florence Buerki Akonor of the Republic of Ghana
• Atadurdy Bayramov of Turkmenistan
• John Busuttil of the Republic of Malta
• Jaime Yorquis Francisco Rodriguez of the Dominican Republic
• Sandy Anabell Dávila Sandoval of the Republic of Nicaragua

In welcoming the Ambassador-designate of Nicaragua, Marcos hoped that the Philippines and Nicaragua would “continue to develop the relations between our two countries” despite the distance.

"We should not allow distance to get in the way of our continuing relations," he said.

"I hope you learn more about the Philippines and that you will be able to explore some other possibilities… to the mutual benefit of our countries," he added.

The Philippines and Nicaragua established bilateral relations on Aug. 10, 1973, with total trade between the two nations amounting to $1.4 million in 2023. Nicaragua ranks as the Philippines’ 142nd trading partner, 133rd import supplier, and 129th export market.

For his part, Belarusian Ambassador-designate Raman Ramanouski is looking forward to bolstering the Philippine-Belarus constructive bilateral collaboration in various sectors like trade and investment, food security, science and education, visa facilitation, and multilateral cooperation.

The Philippines and Belarus established bilateral relations on May 22, 1996. Belarus ranked as the Philippines’ 83rd trading partner, with total trade amounting to $10.1 million last year.

With the country’s relations with the Dominican Republic, President Marcos hopes that the two nations "can find new ways to strengthen the relationship," citing shared history and experiences.

In response, Ambassador Francisco Rodriguez said the Dominican Republic was ready to explore more ways to deepen its diplomatic and bilateral relations with the Philippines.

The two nations forged bilateral relations on Nov. 2, 1952, and recorded a total trade amounting to $27.3 million last year.

In receiving Ambassador-designate Buerki Akonor of the Republic of Ghana, Marcos hopes her arrival "will be the beginning of many good things for the benefit of our people."  

Bilateral relations between Ghana and the Philippines were established on March 6, 1957. The African country is the Philippines’ 108th trading partner.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Busuttil of the Republic of Malta lauded the over 13,000 Filipinos currently working and living in the country, saying they have been beneficial to the growth of the European nation.

He hopes to intensify this kind of cooperation and other areas of mutual interest as Malta and the Philippines commemorate their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027.

On the other hand, during his meeting with President Marcos, Ambassador Bayramov of Turkmenistan reaffirmed his country's commitment to boost its partnership with the Philippines in areas that will benefit both nations.