President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will welcome German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier who will arrive in the Philippines for a state visit on June 15-17.

Marcos and Steinmeier are expected to discuss issues of mutual interest, including defense, peacebuilding, maritime cooperation, trade and investment, climate change, renewable energy, and people-to-people exchanges.

They will also exchange views on regional and international matters of mutual interest, including the Philippines’ ongoing Chairship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Steinmeier’s visit marks a key moment in the over seven-decade-long diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Germany.

The last visit by a German head of state was undertaken by German President and Mrs. Heinrich Lübke in 1963.

Marcos had a working visit to Berlin on March 12-13, 2024, where he met with then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, marking the 70th anniversary of Philippines-Germany diplomatic relations established on October 8, 1954.

Germany is the biggest trading and investment partner of the Philippines among European Union (EU) countries.

Notable German companies operating in the Philippines include Siemens, Lufthansa Technik, Deutsche Bank, Bayer, and Bosch.

Germany has been a development partner of ASEAN since 2016 and a constant voice for the rule of law and a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific. Presidential News Desk