President’s Hall, Malacañan Palace
January 11, 2024

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Federal Republic of Germany during a courtesy call in the Sitting Room at the President’s Hall in Malacañan Palace.

The President and the German Foreign Minister tackled various areas of cooperation and potential collaboration between Germany and the Philippines in anticipation of the President’s upcoming visit to Berlin this March.

Likewise, the discussions focused on cooperation in various areas, including trade, taxation and investments, climate change — especially renewable energy — skills and labor, and maritime security.

Foreign Minister Baerbock conveyed Germany’s support for a rules-based international order in the South China Sea amid heightened maritime tensions, a stance for which the President expressed his gratitude.

The meeting also centered on strategies for developing a formula to calculate the loss and damages in countries vulnerable to climate change, after the Philippines secured a board seat in the inaugural Board of the Loss and Damage Fund during the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai. The Philippines plans to host the Loss and Damage Fund, where Germany pledged US$100 million in contributions to the fund.

During her two-day visit to the Philippines, which is part of her official travel to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Foreign Minister Baerbock is scheduled to visit the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and meet with key officials of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

This landmark visit by a German Federal Foreign Minister, the first in over a decade, marks the beginning of the 70th anniversary celebration of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Germany this year.

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