PH, Ukraine vow to boost bilateral relations
At A Glance
- In his meeting with President Marcos, President Zelenskyy thanked him for the Philippines' unwavering support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
The Philippines and Ukraine have agreed to strengthen their 32-year-old bilateral relations, including exporting Ukrainian agricultural products to the Philippines.

This developed after President Marcos' unannounced bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Malacañan on Monday morning, June 3.
During their meeting, both leaders discussed issues common to their countries and boosting their bilateral relations.
"We also talked about bilateral cooperation, particularly Ukrainian agricultural exports to the Philippines," Zelenskyy wrote on his X account following their Monday morning meeting.
"Ukraine intends to open an embassy in Manila this year to strengthen bilateral cooperation," he added.
In his meeting with President Marcos, President Zelenskyy thanked him for the Philippines' unwavering support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
"I am grateful to the Philippines for supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, for its clear position on Russia's aggression against our country, and for supporting important UN resolutions," he said.
With this, the Ukrainian leader said he was pleased that the Philippines will participate in the inaugural Global Peace Summit in Switzerland on June 15.
"We discussed... the importance of Southeast Asian countries being represented there," he said.
President Marcos said the Philippines has been trying to promote the continuing adherence to international rules-based order as he reiterated the country’s efforts to advocate for peace.
The Philippines and Ukraine formally established their diplomatic ties on April 7, 1992.
In 2022, Ukraine ranked as the 90th trading partner of the Philippines, the 119th export market and 76th import source. The total trade between the countries amounted to $16.9 million with exports valued at $1.49 million and imports at $15.41 million.
Ukraine served as a second home to nearly 200 Filipinos. But the figure went down to 25, who are mostly married to Ukrainians, due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis that started in February 2022.