New Delhi, June 29 (Prensa Latina) India and the Philippines will hold the Fifth Joint Commission meeting here today to comprehensively review bilateral relations and explore ways to deepen and strengthen them.
During the meeting, chaired by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A. Manalo, the full spectrum of the relationship will be discussed, including politics, defense, security, maritime cooperation, trade and investment.
Representatives from both countries will also review progress in the areas of health, tourism, agriculture and financial technology, and discuss regional and multilateral issues.
The day before, Manalo, who is visiting New Delhi at the invitation of his counterpart Jaishankar, reiterated his country’s interest in developing a very strong defense partnership with India and buying military equipment from the neighboring country, according to the Press Trust of India agency.
As part of his program of activities in India, which ends tomorrow, the Philippine Foreign Minister will meet with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and make a presentation on the joint project under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Philippine Foreign Service Institute and the Indian Council of World Affairs in November 2017.
India and the Philippines officially established diplomatic relations on November 26, 1949, shortly after both countries gained independence.
Relations between the two nations are friendly, based on shared historical values and similarities such as South-South cooperation. However, the potential of these relations is far from being exhausted, diplomatic sources acknowledged.
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