Philippine-German Relations
Diplomatic relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Federal Republic of Germany began in 1954. The German Democratic Republic opened its official mission in Manila in 1973, and the Philippines opened the Embassy in Bonn in 1955, which moved to Berlin in 1999 after the transfer of the seat of government of the unified Federal Republic of Germany.
Germany is an important partner of the Philippines. The relations between the two countries and its people are based on mutual respect and shared values. The Philippines and Germany cooperate on a wide-range of projects in various aspects, including labour, climate, peace, and culture. The Philippine Embassy in Berlin and the Consulate General in Frankfurt promote political, economic and development cooperation, and cultural and educational cooperation between the two countries. The Embassy also provides consular services to Filipinos and former Filipino nationals under its area of jurisdiction, including assistance to national services to distressed Filipinos in Germany.
The Philippines values the important role of Germany in the economic development of the Philippines. Germany is the Philippines’ leading trading partner in the EU. German investments in the Philippines are focused on the IT-based services sector, where well known German companies have outsourced internal business processes to the Philippines or have opened their operations in Manila. German companies also invest in the maritime sector in the Philippines.
Apart from economic investments, Germany also provides development assistance and is the third largest bilateral donor of the Philippines after Japan and the USA. The primary implementing agencies for the development cooperation are the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, German Technical Cooperation) and KfW (German Development Bank). Major political foundations affiliated with key political parties in Germany also carry out numerous development projects in the Philippines.