MFA: Finland to reopen its embassy in Manila

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs aims to allocate resources to countries whose political and economic weight for Finland is growing. The reopening of the embassy in Manila is scheduled to take place in autumn 2020. The Foreign Ministry responds to feedback received from citizens and businesses by reopening its mission, which will significantly improve the provision of services in the region. The Philippines is one of the largest countries in which Finland does not currently have an embassy. Most EU Member States and three Nordic countries are already represented in Manila.

The reasons behind the need to reopen the embassy in Manila include the growing importance of Asia in world politics and economy, the Philippines' key role in security questions relating to East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, as well as Finland's expanding commercial interests, greater export potential, increasing provision of consular services and thriving tourism between the countries. The number of Finns travelling and living in the Philippines has been on the increase for years. Finnish companies also recruit more and more trained workers from the Philippines.

The relations between Finland and the Philippines are very good, and the reopening of the embassy is believed to bring the countries even closer to each other. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1955.

Inquiries: Pekka Puustinen, Under-secretary of State, tel. +358 295 350 228, Pekka Kaihilahti, Deputy Director General of the Department for the Americas and Asia, tel. +358 295 350 306, Sami Leino, Director, Unit for Eastern Asia and Oceania, tel. +358 295 351 764.

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are of the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi