Trade, defence key as India, Philippines look to bolster ties

India and the Philippines focused on enhancing cooperation in trade, defence and connectivity as they elevated their relations to a strategic partnership on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pledging to work together to uphold a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region.

- HT Correspondent

Marcos, in India with a delegation that includes 14 cabinet ministers, met Modi for wide-ranging talks that encompassed defence and security, trade and investment, health care, digital transformation, space and connectivity even as warships from India and the Philippines conducted a joint exercise in the South China Sea.

The two sides concluded a five-year plan of action to take forward the strategic partnership, and finalised 14 agreements, including three pacts to enhance dialogue between their armed forces, a treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and an MoU for cooperation in digital technologies. “Tm happy to share that we have decided to upgrade our ties to a strategic partnership. We have also prepared a detailed action plan to turn this partnership's potential into outcomes,” Modi said at a joint media interaction with Marcos, speaking in Hindi.