Secretary Manalo to Co-Chair 5th Meeting of Philippines-India JCBC in New Delhi

MANILA 26 June 2023 – Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo will undertake a visit to New Delhi, India upon the invitation of Minister of External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to co-chair the 5th meeting of the Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) on 29 June 2023. 

The Philippines-India JCBC is a ministerial-level platform usually held every two years to review bilateral relations and chart areas of cooperation for the succeeding years. Due to the pandemic, the 4th Meeting of the Philippines-India JCBC was hosted by the Philippines virtually on 6 November 2020. 

For the 5th Meeting, Secretary Manalo will lead a delegation composed of officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Finance, Philippine Space Agency, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and the Philippine Overseas Construction Board of the Department of Trade and Industry.  The inter-agency delegation reflects the deepening cooperation between the Philippines and India across various sectors. 

On 28 June 2023, the Secretary will headline the 42nd Sapru Lecture organized by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Philippine Foreign Service Institute. He will also engage with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), as well as the Philippines’ Honorary Consular Officials in India and Nepal and Filipino community leaders during his visit.

Secretary Manalo’s visit to New Delhi builds on the positive trajectory of high-level interactions between the two countries in the past six years. The Philippines and India are set to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2024. END