Statement of
Secretary Enrique A. Manalo
for the Joint Press Conference with
Indian External Affairs Minister
H.E. S. Jaishankar
26 March 2024
Excellency Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of the Republic of India;
Our dear friends in the media;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Good afternoon.
I had an excellent discussion with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar today. We both affirmed, in no uncertain terms, our mutual commitment to sustaining the positive momentum of our bilateral relationship, a partnership that has reached unprecedented levels in its scope and depth in recent years.
I also took this opportunity to convey personally to Minister Jaishankar the Philippine government’s profound appreciation for the Indian Navy’s immediate and effective response to the distress call of MV True Confidence, upholding a long-standing and fundamental maritime tradition and ultimately resulting in the safe return of thirteen Filipino seafarers. Further, noting both of our countries’ significant contributions in merchant shipping, we explored possible cooperation to ensure the safety of Indian and Filipino seafarers such as those working on board merchant vessels plying the Red Sea.
The Philippines and India are staunch advocates of safety at sea, freedom of navigation and adherence to international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (or UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea. This was evident during my visit in New Delhi in June last year and it was evident during our discussions today especially on recent actions of China in the West Philippines Sea.
Our countries have a shared interest in a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Minister Jaishankar and I have decided to accelerate our maritime cooperation, with a planned Maritime Dialogue with India to be held in Manila following the successful Track II dialogue in September last year which confirmed several promising areas for collaboration, especially in maritime domain awareness, shipping and seafaring, search and rescue, law enforcement and environmental protection.
With regard to our defense and security cooperation, we see the defense industries of India continuing to play an important role in the AFP Modernization Program. Other priority areas include education and training, as well as research and development in support of the Self-Reliant Defense Posture of the Philippines.
Development cooperation, agriculture, food security, affordable healthcare, and infrastructure, remain high in our shared development agenda. We have also taken note of India’s significant successes in science and technology, space and financial technology, particularly on financial inclusivity. We are keen to begin closer cooperation in this regard.
On tourism, I conveyed to Minister Jaishankar that the Philippines is prioritizing Indian travelers in its e-Visa system project, which we hope to launch in India in the very near future.
We also discussed various mechanisms to facilitate two-way trade, including progress in the negotiations of our bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement, as well as the upgrading of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement. Last year, Philippine exports to India exceeded one billion US dollars for the first time. While this is undoubtedly a good progress, current data indicates that we still have over half a billion dollars of unrealized export potential to India.
We also discussed our mutual engagements in other areas including in the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) and the United Nations and the importance of continuing to cooperate in issues such as on climate change and maritime concerns.
Clearly, there is much work to be done given the immense potential of Philippines-India ties particularly as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relations and as the Philippines takes over as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-India relations later this year.
With the second visit of Minister Jaishankar, we are assured that India will continue to be an important partner on the other side of the Indo-Pacific.
And with this, again I’d like to thank the External Affairs Minister for returning to our shores, where he will, of course, always be welcome. Thank you.