New Delhi: Recognising the shared concerns on maritime security and marine economy, India and the Philippines agreed to fast-track preparations for a bilateral Maritime Dialogue, said a statement released by the Philippines Foreign Affairs department.
The development follows the agreement by India and the Philippines to build on the gains in defense and security partnership, which was discussed in the recent Philippines-India Strategic Dialogue. While the Philippine delegation was led by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, the Indian delegation was led by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary (South) Saurabh Kumar.
This is the first time that the Philippine and Indian delegations had their face-to-face dialogue since the last meeting in 2017 in New Delhi. The officials discussed the growing cooperation between their countries on defense and security, as well as in maritime partnership. They also shared their views about the direction of Philippine-Indian cooperation on strategic matters in the next few years, the statement said.
Other topics discussed in the meeting included counter-terrorism, disaster risk reduction and management, transnational crime, intelligence exchange and procurement of defense equipment, as well as the impact of regional and global developments on the two countries and the region.
A day before the Strategic Dialogue, the delegations convened the 13th Philippines-India Policy Consultations, which took a broader view of the bilateral relationship, and tackled political, economic, and people-to-people cooperation. Both sides agreed to scale up cooperation in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, science and technology, culture, education, and tourism. The two officials also discussed new areas of partnership in financial technology, space cooperation, development cooperation, and renewable energy.
