Iran Tracker

Nuclear:

Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis voiced his government's support in June 2008 for Iran's right to use peaceful nuclear energy. He said that with increasing hydrocarbon prices, all countries should be able to access civilian nuclear energy.[1] In April 2008, the Philippines’ Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said that his country supports Iran’s right to access peaceful nuclear technology under the safeguards of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.[2]

Economic Relationship:

Bilateral trade between Iran and the Philippines reached about $600 million in 2004.[3] According to the Philippines’ Secretary for Industry and Trade Cezar Purisima in December 2004, Manila was interested at the time in increasing its economic cooperation with Iran. [4] In 2006, the Philippines was purchasing between 70,000 and 110,000 barrels of oil a day from Iran, making Iran one of the Philippines’ biggest trade partners.[5]  In 2008, Iran agreed to invest $125 million in the Philippines’ petrochemical market.[6] According to Seyed Mohammad Mousavi Mirkalaie, an Iranian trade official, over the course of the nine months leading to February 2009, the value of non-oil exports from Iran to the Philippines stood at $83 million.[7]

In September 2009, the Filipino Ambassador met with the head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM) to discuss the importance of tourism to both economies.  They agreed that increasing tourism will lead to cooperation in other sectors of society including the food, energy and construction industries.[8]  In November 2009, Iranian Ambassador to the Philippines Ali Mojtaba Rousbahani called for further trade cooperation between Iran and the Philippines saying that trade between Iran and the Philippines totals $370 million yearly and that there is potential for growth on both sides.[9]

Diplomatic/Military Relationship:

Iran and the Philippines have embassies in one another’s capitals, though the two do not shared extensive bilateral relations. In August 2003, Manila and Tehran held their first bilateral conference entitled Dialogue Among Civilizations. [10] In April 2008, the Filipino Foreign Minister called for the expansion of bilateral ties with Iran and claimed that the two countries have enjoyed good relations in the past, giving promise to a positive future relationship.[11] During an April 2009 meeting with the Filipino ambassador to Iran, Generoso Senga, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki noted the positive nature of bilateral ties and expressed hope that relations, especially in the fields of energy, technology, science and culture, would continue to expand. In the same April 2009 meeting, Mottaki blamed the reactions of “extra-regional powers” for expanding extremism in Asia.[12]