By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — With the growing number of Filipinos in Sweden and its ties with the Philippines going on an upswing since the reopening of the Swedish embassy in Manila, the Philippines is considering a foreign post in Stockholm, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Thursday.
“Since their embassy reopened, the relations have strengthened. There have been so many engagements, and so we are also looking at the possibility of having our own post, eventually, in Sweden because there are also a number of Filipinos there,” DFA Assistant Secretary Ma. Amelita Aquino told reporters at a reception in celebration of the Sweden National Day in Makati City.
“We had an embassy before and we closed,” she said.
Aquino said there are about 13,755 Filipinos residing and working in the Nordic state as of 2017. There is a Philippine Consulate General in Stockholm under the jurisdiction of the Philippine embassy in Norway.
The Philippines and Sweden, which celebrated its 72nd diplomatic ties in January 2019, have a “longstanding relationship” which continues to expand, Aquino noted.
She added that aside from people-to-people ties, the presence of Swedish companies in the Philippines is also increasing.
“I think they see the potential in the Philippine economy, they wanted to be present here and I noticed that it’s actually the economic engagement. (It’s) same with Denmark that it’s almost every year that we have delegations coming here,” she said.
“For us, we also see the potentials so we are considering (opening a post there). We just opened in Copenhagen so we are also considering (in Sweden). I rather not say when but of course it’s something that we consider,” Aquino said.
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