PH, India to boost security, economic ties in Marcos visit

President Marcos will push for deeper defense and economic cooperation with India—including new agreements on science, law, and technology—during his five-day state visit to New Delhi and Bangalore next week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

- Argyll Cyrus Geducos

In a pre-departure briefing in Malacañan, DFA Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq said the visit, which runs from Aug. 4 to 8, will include discussions on trade, maritime cooperation, and regional security as the Philippines and India mark 75 years of diplomatic relations.

"This visit is to further strengthen the Philippines' partnership with India, to proactively engage in all aspects of our relations, and seize opportunities for greater security, economic, science and technology, and people-to-people cooperation," she said on Friday, Aug. 1.

The visit, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of Philippine-India diplomatic relations, was arranged upon the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi extended the invitation through a letter to President Marcos during India's Independence Day celebrations last year.