1 March 2016 - The Philippines and Switzerland will hold their seventh bilateral political consultations on March 03 in Berne, Switzerland, building on the positive momentum generated by the last political consultations held in Manila in February 2014.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Policy Evan P. Garcia will head the Philippine delegation, while Ambassador Johannes Matsyassy, Assistant State Secretary for Asia-Pacific at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs will head the Swiss side.

Held on an as-needed basis, the seventh political consultations will cover bilateral aspects of the Philippines’ development cooperation, expansion of trade relations with Switzerland, and other issues of mutual concern and interest. A Memorandum of Agreement on the Recognition of Certificates under the terms of the 1978 STCW convention is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the political consultations.

Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Switzerland were formally established in 1957, although Swiss presence in the Philippines can be traced to the Spanish colonial times. In 1862, Switzerland established a consulate in Manila, its first in Asia. In 2014, total bilateral trade reached US$557.2 million, making Switzerland the Philippines’ 23rd biggest trade partner. END