Philippines-UK Friendship Day: Celebrating our strengthening ties

Today is Philippines-UK Friendship Day, and our team at the British embassy is delighted to celebrate this with so many Filipino friends. We have a lot to celebrate! We are two proud island nations, committed to each other and to making a positive contribution to the wider world.

In the Philippines, we will be celebrating with our Great British Festival in Taguig, and in the UK, several cities will host Filipino fiestas. In all cases, we will come together to enjoy music, food and a blend of the best of British and Filipino traditions, highlighting the integration of our diverse communities. Indeed, the rich tapestry of Filipino culture has found a warm reception in the UK and vice versa. From art exhibitions to film festivals, cultural collaborations over this past year have celebrated the creativity and heritage of both nations. So join in and savor new flavors, dance to the music, sing along or simply soak up the festive spirit.

For me, Friendship Day is also an opportunity to reflect and celebrate how we have supported each other, and how our historical partnership is delivering benefits for the people of both our nations.

One such area is education. I am delighted that every year, a growing number of Filipino students are choosing to study in the UK. We are proud to have a brilliant education system, including four of the world’s top ten universities, that supports some of the best talent in the world in engineering, science, the creative industries, technology and professional services. And we are clear that Filipino students enrich our academic institutions with their talent and ideas. This weekend’s Great British Festival will include an education pavilion with British universities and education providers. Please do visit to find out about our scholarships and academic exchanges, including our flagship Chevening program, which are supporting the next generation of Filipino leaders and decision-makers.

Another area where we work hand-in-hand is tackling climate change and environmental degradation. Our countries recognize climate change as a global crisis. Together, we are helping to build a greener, more sustainable future. The UK is aiming to become a clean energy superpower by 2030, and just 21 days ago, we closed our last coal power plant. As the hosts of the Loss and Damage Fund, Philippine international leadership on climate justice is clear. We will continue working with the Philippines to support its ambitious climate commitments through a suite of programs, ranging from the development of the National Adaptation Plan through to addressing biodiversity loss with over P200 million in grants for local organizations.

We are committed to upholding the rules-based international order and upholding international law in the Indo-Pacific. In July, we held our annual Maritime Dialogue and this week, we held our latest Joint Defense Dialogue in London. We are building great partnerships across many institutions, including the Royal Navy, the Royal Marine Commando Force and the UK Hydrography Office. British offshore patrol vessel HMS SPEY and her sister ship TAMAR are based in the Indo-Pacific with two visits to the Philippines in the past year. We are supporting the Armed Forces of the Philippines through participating in exercises, the provision of military education and the delivery of specialist training. And it was great to have a proud Filipina graduate with flying colors from our prestigious Royal Navy academy at Dartmouth earlier this year.

Our economic and trade partnership is thriving. At 2.8-billion pounds last year, we are trading more than ever before. Ninety-nine percent of Philippines exports now have duty free access to the UK through our trade preference scheme – one of the most generous in the world. This year we are working to upgrade our trade relationship with a new Joint Economic Trade Committee. And the UK is proudly supporting the Philippines’ flagship infrastructure projects, including through our British Investment Partnerships, mobilizing financing to support sustainable infrastructure development and accelerate the transition to clean energy.

As a nation of creatives and pioneers, we are constantly innovating. We are proud to be working with the Philippines on science, research, AI, cyber, the transition to net zero. These all represent once-in-a-generation revolutions. In his SONA, the President highlighted the UK collaboration with the Philippine Space Agency on what will be the Philippines’ largest earth observation satellite. There will be more such technological innovations and partnerships between our two countries.

It has been just over 100 days since the UK general elections, and already the new British Government has set its focus on economic growth, global partnerships and climate action. Delivering on these priorities goes hand-in-hand with further investing in great international relationships. The Philippines, with its vibrant culture and dynamic economy, has long been a valued partner of the UK and is increasingly so. There is so much we can do together and I look forward to enhancing our collaboration even further.

Happy Philippines-UK Friendship Day!

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Laure Beaufils is the British Ambassador to the Philippines.