PH, Indian firms sign 18 deals during Marcos state visit
Philippine and Indian companies have signed 18 deals during President Marcos’ five-day state visit to India, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
“They are tangible outcomes of our collaborative efforts and will serve as the foundation for ongoing and future business engagements between our two nations,” the PCO quoted Trade Secretary Cristina Roque as saying.
Roque said the President witnessed the ceremonial presentation of the agreements during the Philippine-India Business Forum in Bengaluru on Thursday.
“These agreements cover a wide range of strategic sectors including renewable energy, infrastructure, healthcare, education, information technology and business process management, digital services, and manufacturing,” Roque said.
The IT-BPM sector featured prominently, with several letters of intent outlining plans to establish digital academies and expand operations in health-care outsourcing and business process management and artificial intelligence training.
Other agreements included projects for telecommunications tower construction, expansion of precision sheet metal manufacturing and a copper smelting and refining venture.
Three separate memorandums of understanding were also signed in the areas of digital finance, real estate development and logistics.
Personal touch
Also on Thursday, Mr. Marcos held a series of one-on-one meetings with top Indian business leaders on Thursday to discuss sector-specific plans—ranging from telecom and IT-BPM to health care and green energy.
The President met with executives from ISON Tower, NephroPlus, Hinduja Group and Tata Consultancy Services as part of his bid to attract innovation-driven partnerships.
ISON Tower chair Vivek Gupta outlined plans to support growth in health care, BPO, renewable energy and insurance-related initiatives.
NephroPlus Group CEO Rohit Singh, on the other hand, said it will expand its network of 39 already-operation dialysis centers in the Philippines.
Hinduja Group executive Shom Hinduja also reaffirmed the conglomerate’s commitment to seek new areas of cooperation.
Hinduja Global Solutions, which has been operating in the Philippines for 22 years, is a pioneer in the country’s IT-BPM sector.
Tata Consultancy Services, a member of the Tata Group, reaffirmed its commitment to a strategic digital partnership with the government.
‘New era’
Mr. Marcos returned to the country from India on Friday night, declaring a “new era” of relations between the two countries.
In his arrival message, Marcos said: “The elevation of our bilateral ties signals our mutual recognition of the complementarity and alignment of our interests, not only in bilateral matters but also in many regional and international issues of critical importance to both our countries.” —WITH A REPORT FROM PNA
