President Zelenskyy arrives in Manila, meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr

The Philippine President's Office reported the information.

During a meeting on Monday, June 3, at the Malacañang Palace, Presidents Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to further strengthen the 32-year diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Ukraine, the statement said.

Zelenskyy thanked President Marcos for the Philippines' unwavering support for Ukraine and for President Marcos' firm position on Russian aggression against Ukraine. He added that he was happy to visit the Philippines for the first time, but he was sure it would not be the last.

“I am also very pleased that this year we will open an embassy in Manila,” President Zelenskyy added.

President Marcos noted that this is good news and added that the Philippines will continue to help Ukraine in all possible ways and through international organizations.

“So, we will continue to do all that we can to promote peace and to bring an end to the fighting and to come to a political resolution of your country. I think everybody fully understands that it is easier said than done and it will be a difficult road to find our way back to the situation that is morally acceptable not only to Ukraine, but to the rest of the world,”   Marcos added.

A little later, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also announced a visit to the Philippines.

“I arrived in the Philippines and met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the first time in the history of our bilateral relations. I am grateful to the Philippines for supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, for its clear position on Russia's aggression against our country, and for supporting important UN resolutions,”  Zelenskyy wrote on the social network X. 

He also confirmed Ukraine's intention to open an embassy in Manila this year to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

“We discussed the inaugural Global Peace Summit and the importance of Southeast Asian countries being represented there. I am pleased that the Philippines will participate in the Summit. We also talked about bilateral cooperation, particularly Ukrainian agricultural exports to the Philippines,” the Ukrainian President added.

                                                                                                                        Photo: x.com/ZelenskyyUa

Earlier, the Philippine government's Philippine News Agency reported on Zelenskyy's visit to Manila.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the Malacañang Palace for a bilateral meeting with the President of the Philippines on June 3. 

As Business Mirror noted earlier, Zelenskyy arrived unannounced and under heavy security in Manila on Sunday evening after speaking at the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore over the weekend.

He had planned but was unable to meet with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the sidelines of the forum and decided to fly to Manila to personally invite Marcos to attend the summit in Switzerland. Two Philippine officials told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of Zelenskyy's secret trip to Manila.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Singapore to take part in the Shangri-La Dialogue conference, a key platform for security topics in the Asia-Pacific region.