Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (right) with UK Foreign Secretary James Spencer Cleverly (left) at Diamond Hotel Manila (Photo courtesy of DFA)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United Kingdom inked an agreement on Tuesday to strengthen bilateral ties by building on exchanges in the areas of defense, security, the economy, and maritime affairs, among others.
The agreement was forged during British Foreign Secretary James Spencer Cleverly’s visit to Manila.
“UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and I signed today a Joint Statement of Intent to develop a Framework Agreement that is envisioned to define the scope of our bilateral cooperation under the Philippines-UK Enhanced Partnership,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo in a statement.
“It seeks to build on the exchanges that our two countries have been undertaking in the areas of defense, security, maritime, climate, economic, and people-to-people ties, since we launched our Enhanced Partnership in 2021,” he added.
Manalo added that apart from the signing of the agreement, he and Cleverly discussed “pressing and evolving regional international issues of mutual concern.”
Manalo, however, did not detail what these pressing issues are.
“77 years after we established diplomatic ties, the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and the UK remains strong and robust,” said Manalo.
The Philippines and UK recently celebrated the 77th diplomatic relations last July 4.
In a separate statement issued Tuesday, Clevely said UK has reached “new highs” in its biateral trade with the Philippines after it launched a new trading scheme to increase Filipino exports in the UK, broadened maritime cooperations with the Philippines, and also supported the country in adapting unavoidable consequences of climate change.