Indian foreign minister returns to PH March 25
India’s foreign minister will return to Manila this week—two years since the last visit—to further trade, defense and other wide-ranging cooperation with the Philippines.
India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will be in the country from March 25 to March 27, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
His meeting with Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo will focus on “defense and maritime cooperation, food security, development, health care and financial technology cooperation,” said the DFA over the weekend.
The discussion will also include “advancing trade and tourism between two of Asia’s fastest growing economies,” the DFA added.
Jaishankar’s first official visit to the country was on Feb. 13 to Feb. 15, 2022.
Manalo made an official visit to India on June 27 to June 30 last year for the 5th India-Philippines joint commission on bilateral cooperation.
The bilateral talks covered expanded cooperation on defense, maritime, law enforcement, trade and investment, development, health and pharmaceuticals, tourism and civil aviation, agriculture, financial technology, science and technology, space cooperation, cultural exchanges and education.
Backing
During the discussion, India also expressed support for the Philippines’ position in the South China Sea territorial dispute.
In a joint statement, Manalo and Jaishankar “underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes and for adherence to international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea.
An arbitral tribunal upheld the Philippines’ claims and rejected as without legal basis China’s supposed historic rights on most of the South China Sea.
India is the Philippines’ 15th largest trading partner and 13th biggest export market. Total bilateral trade surpassed $3 billion in 2023.
Jaishankar’s visit to the Philippines is part of his three-country Southeast Asia tour. He will also visit Singapore and Malaysia. INQ
