MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said he held a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reaffirm bilateral ties and explore new areas of collaboration.
In a social media post, Marcos said the discussion centered on strengthening cooperation in food security, agriculture, and digitalization, sectors both leaders view as critical to future Philippine–Ukraine engagement.
Marcos added that, as the Philippines prepares to assume the ASEAN chairship, he and Zelenskyy also talked about enhancing ASEAN–Ukraine relations “for the benefit of our peoples.”
The two leaders previously met in June 2024, when Zelenskyy visited Manila to personally invite Marcos to a global peace summit addressing the ongoing war in Ukraine.
During that visit, Zelenskyy also sought the Philippines’ assistance in deploying mental health professionals to support Ukrainian soldiers affected by the conflict with Russia.