Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos to Make First Visit to the Philippines on Oct. 7
Key Takeaways
- •Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos will make the first visit to the Philippines by a Cypriot foreign minister on Oct. 7, meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa. Lazaro.
- •Two memorandums of understanding will be signed after the meeting, one on joint sporting events and athletic training cooperation, and the other on mutual recognition of maritime qualifications and certificates.
- •The maritime recognition agreement is especially significant for the Philippines, one of the world's leading suppliers of seafarers to the international merchant fleet.
- •The visit marks more than 45 years of Filipino-Cypriot diplomatic relations dating to 1980, following the Philippines' first official trip to Cyprus in 2024.
- •Cyprus, an EU member state in the eastern Mediterranean, is home to more than 8,000 overseas Filipinos and recorded $4.52 million in bilateral trade with Manila in 2015, ranking as the Philippines' 113th trading partner.
THE first visit by a Cypriot foreign minister to the Philippines will take place on Oct. 7, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday.
Constantinos Kombos, the Republic of Cyprus' minister of Foreign Affairs, will meet with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro to discuss Filipino-Cypriot engagement and areas of mutual interest.
According to the DFA, Mr. Kombos' visit highlights more than 45 years of growing international cooperation between the two countries. Former Foreign Secretary Enrique A. Manalo undertook the Philippines' first visit to Cyprus in 2024, which coincided with the 44th anniversary of Filipino-Cypriot diplomatic relations, a partnership dating to 1980.
Cyprus, an island nation in the eastern Mediterranean and a member of the European Union, is home to more than 8,000 overseas Filipinos, the DFA said.
Two agreements to be signed
Two memorandums of understanding (MoU) will be signed after the meeting between Ms. Lazaro and Mr. Kombos, the DFA said — the visit's concrete deliverables to watch once the talks conclude.
The first MoU formalizes an agreement between Manila and Cyprus to host joint sporting events and share athletic expertise and training.
The second allows the two nations to mutually recognize maritime qualifications and certificates — a field of particular significance for the Philippines, one of the world's leading suppliers of seafarers to the international merchant fleet. Mutual recognition is the mechanism that lets a seafarer credentialed in one country serve aboard vessels registered in another, the kind of practical detail on which the overseas deployment of Filipino maritime workers depends.
Economic ties
Cyprus is also a major economic partner of the Philippines. Bilateral trade in 2015 amounted to $4.52 million, approximately P3.44 billion, making Cyprus Manila's 113th trading partner, 105th export market, and 115th import source.
— Francessca S. Abalos
