Manila, October 12 (AseanAll) — Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on October 12, 2026 received outgoing Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Miguel Utray in a farewell call at Malacañan Palace, thanking the diplomat for his contributions to strengthening cooperation between the Philippines and Spain during his four-year tour of duty in the country.
Ambassador Utray, who assumed his post in October 2022, is set to depart Manila on October 14, 2026, to assume his new assignment as Spain’s Ambassador to Angola.
A career diplomat, Ambassador Utray previously served as Spain’s Consul General in Edinburgh and Melbourne and held diplomatic assignments at the Spanish Embassies in Türkiye and Mexico.
He also held various positions in Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Instituto Cervantes, the Office of the Prime Minister, and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies.
The Philippines and Spain established formal diplomatic relations on September 27, 1947, and will mark the 80th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.
During Ambassador Utray’s tenure, economic ties between the two countries continued to expand, with bilateral trade reaching US$1.073 billion in 2025, up from US$994.25 million in 2024.
Spain ranked as the Philippines’ 24th largest trading partner in 2024, with major Philippine exports including tuna, skipjack, bonito, coconut oil, pineapples, and other agricultural and manufactured products.
Tourism exchanges also recorded significant growth during Ambassador Utray’s posting, with visitor arrivals from Spain nearly doubling to 60,290 in 2025 from 30,581 in 2024. Meanwhile, Filipino tourists visiting Spain reached 185,000 arrivals in 2025, up from 125,000 the year before according to Ambassador Utray.
Spain is also home to approximately 51,855 Filipinos, many of whom are employed in the services sector.
