Philippines–Switzerland relations refers to foreign relations between the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The Philippines has an embassy in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

and Switzerland has an embassy in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

History

Bilateral and diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Switzerland may be traced back to the early 1800s when Swiss traders, missionaries and travelers ventured to

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

. The opening of official Swiss representation in the Philippines was first considered by the Swiss Federal Council in 1851. In March 1862, The Swiss government opened its first representation in all of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

in the Philippines. A month later, the Swiss Consulate in

opened its doors. Under the direction of Peter Jenny, Switzerland's first Consul General in the Philippines, the official relations between the two entities were launched. On July 4, 1946, Switzerland officially recognized the Philippines as a country. In 1957, formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were established.

Economic relations

Trade and investment relations flourish with Switzerland as one of the top ten investors in the Philippines with more than 60 Swiss companies employing at least 15,000 Filipinos locally in the Southeast Asian country. Philippine President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

and Swiss President

Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (born 16 March 1956) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2008 to 2015. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) until 2008, she has since then been a member of the ...

discussed the trade relations between the Philippines and Switzerland during the bilateral talks held at the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting in

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

. The two leaders agreed to convene the Philippines-Switzerland Joint Economic Commission a consultation to facilitate bilateral discussions on trade and investment cooperation.

Others

Philippine ambassador Maria Theresa Lazaro has also been involved in work to raise the status of Filipina women in Switzerland and promote their integration into Swiss society by organising a

peer support Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters (although it can be provided by peers without training), and can ...

group and inviting a psychologist to give seminars on self-esteem, leadership, and team-building. The documentary ''Luminawa'' by Swiss director Thomas Luchinger-De Clerq discusses the search for identity by second-generation

Kalinga people The Kalinga people () are an indigenous ethnic group whose ancestral domain is in the Cordillera Mountain Range of the northern Philippines. They are mainly found in Kalinga province which has an area of 3,282.58 sq. km. Some of them, howeve ...

in Switzerland.

Immigration

As of 2007, There are more than 10,000

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

in Switzerland. As of 2012, There are 3,140 Swiss nationals residing in the Philippines, with 1,664 of them holding dual citizenship. The Swiss community in the Philippines has organized a club based in Manila.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Philippines-Switzerland relations