Slovenia has opened an embassy in the Philippines with the relevant decree by President Nataša Pirc Musar published in the Official Gazette on 12 April.

Slovenia opened a consulate general in Manila last year to facilitate procedures for the employment of Filipino workers in Slovenia. The Philippines is one of the world's biggest exporters of labour force.

The newspaper Delo has recently reported that Foreign Ministry official Dragan Barbutovski will be taking over as chargé d'affaires until an ambassador is appointed.

The Foreign Ministry will publish a call to fill the post of the ambassador but Barbutovski will not apply because he does not yet meet the requirements for the job, Delo reported.

Currently head of the Foreign Ministry's strategic communication service, Barbutovski briefly served as the government's communications chief in 2022.

Earlier he served as the head of the Slovenian branch of the British Council and as spokesman for Slovenia's EU presidency in 2008, among other things.