Republic of the Philippines
Diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and the Philippines were established on November 16, 1973 by signing of a communiqué in New York. Bulgaria was represented in Manila by a trade and economic adviser who also temporarily managed the Embassy until it was closed by a decision of the Council of Ministers on June 24, 1991. Traditionally, until 2009 Bulgaria's Ambassador to Japan was accredited to the Philippines. In view of the Philippines' membership in ASEAN, in 2014 steps have been taken to accredit to the Philippines Bulgaria’s Ambassador in Vietnam (based in Hanoi) as a partner country in ASEAN.
Currently, the Ambassador of the Philippines in Budapest is accredited to Bulgaria.
In February 2007, the Bulgarian citizen Ognyan Trayanov, president of Technologica Company, was appointed as Honorary Consul of the Republic of the Philippines in Bulgaria, based in Sofia. In February 2021, Mr. Tryanov’s rank was promoted to Honorary Consul General.
The key points in the political dialogue include: On July 11-16, 2003, the President of the Senate of the Philippines Franklin Drilon paid an official visit to Bulgaria. Meetings between Foreign Ministers Ivailo Kalfin and Alberto Romulo were held in 2006 in New York within the framework of the 61st session of the UNGA and in 2008 in Madrid as part of the First Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. In November 2010, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Milen Lyutskanov and Prof. Zhivko Zhelev, who was awarded the prize for scientific innovation, visited the Philippines. In September 2015, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Daniel Mitov met with the Deputy Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Evan Garcia within the framework of the 70th session of the UNGA in New York.
A mechanism for political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs has been established; three rounds of consultations were held at the Deputy Minister level: in 1984 in Manila, in May 2007 in Sofia, and in March 2010 in Manila.
Traditionally, trade between the two countries is concentrated in the field of electronics.