Ireland-Philippines Relations

Ireland and the Philippines established diplomatic relations in 1984. Ireland opened the Embassy in the Philippines in 2021 as part of the next phase of expanding Ireland’s global footprint.

Ireland and the Philippines are Island nations on opposite sides of the world. However, in recent years, our two countries have been drawn closer. Ireland has recognised the importance of the Asia Pacific Region, and ASEAN in particular, through the strategy Global Ireland Delivering in the Asia Pacific Region to 2025.

Relations between Ireland and the Philippines have continued to grow closer. The Philippines is the one of the largest markets for Irish beef in Asia and total trade between our countries is over €800 million. Ireland has been working to strengthen these trade relations, with ongoing work to further facilitate mutual investment and remove barriers to trade. In November 2020, Minister McConalogue led a virtual trade trade delegation to the Philippines in the dairy sector.

Almost ten thousand people who identify as Filipino call Ireland home, this is the largest community from any South-East Asian country, their valuable contribution to Irish society is most evident in the health sector

Ireland, through the EU, continues to enjoy increasing political partnership with all ASEAN member states. The Embassy in Manila is an important step in boosting Ireland’s bilateral political engagement with the Philippines, including addressing priority issues to promote and protect Ireland’s values and interests.