Relationship dossier
Philippines
Switzerland
Relationship assessment
Cooperation spans trade, development, peacebuilding and the recovery of Marcos-linked assets
Philippines toward Switzerland
+30The Philippines participates in the Philippines–EFTA free trade agreement, which includes Switzerland and entered into force in 2018. The treaty provides a concrete framework for Philippine economic relations with Switzerland, although the scale of subsequent bilateral cooperation is unclear.
Switzerland toward Philippines
+40Switzerland has supported development and peacebuilding efforts in the Philippines, including work related to the Mindanao peace process. Swiss authorities also pursued legal action concerning assets linked to Ferdinand Marcos, enabling the return of funds to the Philippines.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship has a cooperative structure, with an economic framework through the Philippines–EFTA free trade agreement and Swiss development and peacebuilding engagement in the Philippines. Swiss action facilitating the return of Marcos-linked assets is another significant instance of bilateral cooperation. The available breadth of these arrangements and their current implementation are uncertain.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
The Philippines and Switzerland maintain a cooperative relationship encompassing economic agreements, Swiss development and peacebuilding support in the Philippines, and Swiss legal action that enabled the return of assets linked to Ferdinand Marcos. The Philippines also participates in a free trade agreement with Switzerland and other EFTA states. The breadth and present implementation of bilateral cooperation are not fully clear.
Key developments
The Philippines–EFTA free trade agreement, including Switzerland, entered into force.
Swiss authorities enabled the return to the Philippines of funds linked to Ferdinand Marcos.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and current implementation of bilateral economic and development cooperation are unclear.
- Details of recent Philippine government engagement with Switzerland are limited.