German president set for state visit to Manila

MANILA, Philippines — German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to fly to the Philippine for a three-day state visit from June 15 to 17, Malacañang announced Thursday, June 11.

Steinmeier will be the first German head of state to undertake a state visit to the Philippines since then-West Germany president Heinrich Lübke in 1963.

While in the Philippines, Steinmeier will be holding a bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., covering “issues of mutual interest, including defense, peacebuilding, maritime cooperation, trade and investment, climate change, renewable energy, and people-to-people exchanges.”

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

Marcos visited Berlin back in 2024 for a working visit which commemorated the 70th anniversary of bilateral ties between the Philippines and Germany. In a release, Malacañang noted that Germany was the Philippines’ biggest investment partner from the European Union.

In 2025, the Philippines and Germany signed a defense cooperation arrangement, which builds on a 1974 agreement for the training of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel in Germany. The agreement also expands cooperation in cyber security, defense armaments and logistics, and United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, according to releases from the Philippine defense department.

Germany is among the many countries that’s been consistent in its support of the Philippines’ efforts to uphold its entitlements and claims in the South China Sea amid China’s own sweeping claims and in the face of Beijing’s aggressive actions. – Rappler.com