India and the Philippines have decided to work towards deepening cooperation in maritime security, combating terrorism, military training and capacity building. Besides his meeting with his counterpart Teodoro L Locsin Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, Dr S Jaishankar, external affairs minister, met with other ministers too. And the focus of meetings was on further strengthening cooperation in various sectors like defence, finance and agriculture.

Since both India and the Philippines are dealing with China over maritime and territorial issues, at the end of the meeting between India’s external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar and his counterpart.  

During the meeting both the ministers reviewed the developments in the bilateral relations between the two sides since the last Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation meeting which was virtually held in 2020.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday (Feb 15, 2022) the two ministers at the meeting discussed in detail about the future trajectory of the wide-ranging engagement between India and the Philippines. They also exchanged views on regional and international matters of mutual concern.

Re-affirming their strong commitment to a multifaceted policy that would facilitate the developmental aspirations and shared priorities of the two democracies in the Indo-Pacific region, they have both decided to coordinate closely at multilateral fora.

First visit of EAM

Financial Express Online had reported last week that this is the first visit of Dr Jaishankar in his capacity as a minister to the Asean member country. And the visit came close on the heels of a big first ever USD 375 million contract with the South Asian country for the Indo-Russian BrahMos shore-based anti-ship missile system.

Since the two countries have shared interest in diversifying supply chains, during the meeting both countries decided to work towards strengthening of economic cooperation, trade and investment in various areas including health and pharmaceuticals, tourism, ICT, agriculture, infrastructure, and science & technology.

The two countries have also identified new areas for cooperation which are based on shared interests and are in line with the vision of the leadership of both sides. New areas like space, cyber security, traditional medicine, blue economy, fintech, and renewable energy have been identified.

Early return of Indian medical students to the Philippines was also on the agenda of talks.

Dr Jaishankar while in Manila met with Delfin Lorenzana, Secretary of Defence, Carlos Domineguez III, Secretary of Finance and Dr William Dar, Secretary of Agriculture.

Before departing for New Delhi, the minister met with a cross section of the Indian community in Manila.

TAGS: Indo-Pacific, China, Maritime Security