Philippines to set up embassy in Ukraine

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the Philippines will establish an embassy in Ukraine, months after Russia launched a military invasion that displaced millions and affected the global economy.

“I’m setting up a Philippine embassy of its own in Ukraine but can’t keep my promise to be physically present in Kyiv. All Ukraine is a no fly zone; 19-hour train service is irregular depending on hostilities. That a heart is with you means nothing if not there to share peril,” Locsin posted on Twitter.

He made the announcement following Friday’s meeting with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmytro Senik, who invited Locsin to visit their country.

According to Senik, who was Ukraine’s former ambassador to Singapore, Brunei and New Zealand, he had a candid conversation with Locsin “about the prospects of our bilateral relations, economic cooperation and Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

During his visit, the Ukrainian official also met with Department of Information and Communications Technology secretary-designate Ivan Uy to discuss digital transformation progress and how digitization of public services helped their people during the war.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has yet to release details of the plan to establish a Philippine embassy in Ukraine.

At present, the country has an embassy in neighboring Poland, which has concurrent jurisdiction over Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. An honorary consulate was established by the Philippines in Ukraine.

Prior to Russia’s invasion, the Department of Foreign Affairs said there were around 380 Filipinos in Ukraine.

Over 300 were repatriated to the Philippines, while others were evacuated to nearby countries.

Locsin himself went to Poland last February to meet the first batch of Filipinos who were evacuated from Ukraine.

The Philippines was among the countries that overwhelmingly voted in favor of United Nations resolutions calling on Russia to stop its offensive in Ukraine.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES