Marcos to sign 6 pacts in India
The Philippines and India are expected to sign at least six agreements during President Marcos’s state visit to India from August 4 to 8, the Department of Foreign affairs said on Friday.
DFA Assistant Secretary Evangeline Jimenez-Ducrocq said the agreements cover cooperation in law, culture, science, and technology, but there were ongoing talks in other fields.
“The areas of cooperation actually are very wide-ranging. But we look forward to expanding them even more,” Jimenez-Ducrocq said in a briefing in Malacañang on Friday.
“We have… upwards of six agreements to be concluded. And though the working day is not yet over, we expect more to come on line,” she added.
The President will leave shortly after the arrival of four Indian warships–the guided-missile destroyer INS Delhi, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan, fleet tanker INS Shakti, and survey ship INS Sandhayak–in Manila on Aug. 2.
The four warships will be in the country for maritime drills in the West Philippine Sea from August 4 to 8, but the Delhi, Kiltan and Shakti have already been in the Philippines. The last time was last year when they also made goodwill port call in Manila.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, declined to comment on details.
But Jimenez-Ducrocq said the expansion of maritime cooperation will also be in the talking points between Modi and Marcos, the first Philippine president to visit the country since 2007, or 18 years ago.
The first Philippine state visit to India was inn 2007 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The last state visit of an Indian leader to the Philippines was in 2019 by then President Ram Nath Kovind.
“Part of our ongoing relationship with India is in maritime cooperation activities. So we look forward to expanding these, deepening our relationships, and expanding our areas of cooperation,” Jimenez-Ducrocq said.
Mr. Marcos’ scheduled activities in New Delhi include a get-together with the Filipino community, numbering around 3,500 in 2013, mostly in the information and technology field.
In the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration estimates about 120,000 Indian nationals (10,000 of them students). Around 5,000 persons of Indian origin have acquired Filipino citizenship.
Aside from the usual bilateral meetings with India Prime Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and Indian officials from August 4 to 6, Mr. Marcos is also set to meet with Indian business leaders in Bangalore on August 7 and 8.
“I think a number of the companies have already made some investments in the Philippines, and so we’re looking to expand these investments from the same companies or to reach out to new companies,” Jimenez-Ducrocq said.
Bangalore is known as India’s “Silicon Valley,” a crucial sector in one of the largest economies in the world.
With its 2025 gross domestic product at $4.187 trillion, India has surpassed Japan (2025 GDP: $4.186 trillion) as the world’s fourth largest economy, behind the United States, China and Germany.
“Bangalore is India’s Silicon Valley, and as you know, in ICT, in technology, they are quite strong. So, we’re hoping to establish better connections, especially for the private sector,” Jimenez-Ducrocq said.
