PH, India Drive Relations Forward at the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation Meet
Secretary Locsin (left) and Minister Jaishankar (right) review overall PH-India bilateral relations and consider concrete cooperation initiatives across key areas
PASAY CITY 06 NOVEMBER 2020 - Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. and Minister of External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar led the virtual convening of the Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation on 6 November 2020.
Secretary Locsin and Minister Jaishankar discussed key developments in overall bilateral relations including last year’s State Visit of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, on the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and this June’s telephone discussions between President Rodrigo Duterte and Prime Minister Narendra Modi; PH-Indian views on regional and global issues in the context of ASEAN and India Dialogue; and mutual support to address the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of repatriation, cooperation in health and pharmaceuticals, and economic revitalization in the fields of agriculture, energy, and ICT.
Also discussed was potential cooperation in maritime security, intelligence-sharing, military training, procurement and logistics, combatting terrorism, expanding air linkages and tourism, supporting growing educational and student exchanges, and in the promising areas of alternative and traditional medicine, vaccine development, and renewable energy.
The JCBC marks Secretary Locsin’s second official bilateral engagement with Minister Jaishankar, both having formally met on 01 August 2019, at the sidelines of the 9th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bangkok. END
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (left photo) and Philippine Ambassador to India Ramon S. Bagatsing (right photo), Jr. join Secretary Locsin during the virtual meeting
Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, Policy Adviser Ashok Malik, Indian Ambassador-designate to the Philippines Shambhu S. Kumaran, officials from the Indian Embassy and Deputy Secretary Govind Jaiswal of the Indian Ministry of Health & Family Welfare during the virtual meeting.