New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar on Tuesday concluded his three-day maiden visit to the Philippines which started on February 13. The visit comes right after the Quad Foreign Ministers meeting in Melbourne held last week.
He held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines. The two reviewed developments in bilateral relations since the meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation they had co-chaired virtually in November 2020.
They also discussed the future trajectory of the wide-ranging engagement between the two countries. The two ministers also had an in-depth exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. The visit of Jaishankar also assumes significance from the perspective of the India-Philippines strategic partnership.
India and the Philippines had signed the $375 million Brahmos deal on January 28. The Brahmos deal is one of the first military exports by India involving the Indo-Russian Brahmos missiles and launchers to the Philippines Navy.
According to sources, the Philippines Navy will receive the first batch of these missiles by 2022. During his visit, the Ministers welcomed recent trends in bilateral ties that have contributed to the deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation and the expansion to newer areas based on shared interests in line with the vision of the leadership of both countries.
They agreed to further work towards strengthening engagement in counter-terrorism and defence and maritime security, covering defence capabilities as well as military training and capacity building. In light of the complementarities between the two countries as fast-growing market economies, and the shared interest in diversifying supply chains, they agreed to make efforts to further expand economic cooperation as well as trade and investment links in a range of areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, health and pharmaceuticals, tourism, ICT, and science & technology.
Read:Jaishankar holds 'productive discussions' with Philippines counterpart
The Ministers also noted with satisfaction recent initiatives to step up cooperation in emerging areas such as fintech, blue economy, renewable energy, space, cyber security and traditional medicine. To expand business, tourism and student exchange between the two countries, both sides agreed on the need for a simplified visa regime between India and the Philippines.
Dr. Jaishankar also sought the attention of the Philippine government to facilitate the early return of Indian medical students to the Philippines. Both Ministers agreed to coordinate closely at multilateral fora and reaffirmed their strong commitment to a multifaceted partnership that would facilitate the developmental aspirations and shared priorities of the two democracies in the Indo-Pacific region.
During the visit, EAM also interacted with Delfin Lorenzana, Secretary of Defence, Carlos Dominguez III, Secretary of Finance and Dr William Dar, Secretary of Agriculture to discuss issues strengthening cooperation in Defence, Finance and Agriculture sectors respectively. He also interacted with a cross-section of the Indian Community in Manila. Jaishankar appreciated their role in promoting friendship and amity between the people of the two countries and urged them to continue to be a bridge between the people of India and the Philippines.
