India and the Philippines agreed on Friday to enhance bilateral defense engagement and maritime cooperation, especially in training and procurement of military equipment, and increase information exchange to combat terrorism.
The decisions were made during a virtual meeting of the joint bilateral cooperation commission that was co-chaired by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Teodoro Locsin Jr, secretary of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
There is considerable defense cooperation between the two countries and the Philippines is considered to be among the pioneers in acquiring the BrahMos cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia. Efforts to conclude a deal for the missile system this year were affected by the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis, people familiar with the developments said on condition of anonymity.
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The two sides “agreed to further strengthen defense commitment and maritime cooperation … especially in military training and education, capacity building, regular goodwill visits and acquisition of defense equipment,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
They also agreed to “enhance cooperation in the area of fighting terrorism with the exchange of information between interested agencies and support in terms of specialized training needs,” the statement added.
Jaishankar tweeted that his meeting with Locsin “focused on boosting cooperation in trade and investment, defense, education, ICT and space.” The Indian side underlined “our convergence on the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook,” he added.
During the meeting, the two sides reviewed recent developments in bilateral relations and discussed the future trajectory of their engagement. Jaishankar and Locsin agreed to strengthen cooperation on shared challenges, particularly in the health sector to address the Covid-19 pandemic.
They also agreed to expand trade and investment ties and work on strengthening cooperation in agriculture, health and pharmaceuticals, tourism, energy, ICT, and science and technology. In order to expand trade, tourism and student exchanges, both parties agreed to work on a simplified visa regime.
Jaishankar appreciated the educational opportunities provided by the Philippines to Indian students and reaffirmed India’s assistance for development and capacity building in the Philippines. He invited Filipino students, scholars and academics to take advantage of ITEC and e-ITEC initiatives, and use the PhD scholarships offered to ASEAN students at IITs.
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