Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo has met with his Indian counterpart to plan the possible state visit of President Marcos to India.
In an X post on early morning Wednesday, March 19, Manalo disclosed the possible visit of the President to India, which, he said, was among the matters he and India Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar discussed.
Manalo further said they also talked about options in ship repair, railway construction, and positive developments in visa matters.
"Planning the possible state visit of President Marcos to India with Minister of External Affairs H.E. S. Jaishankar, including options in ship repair, railway construction, and positive developments in visa matters," Manalo said in his post, sharing a photo of them during the meeting.
In a local news network interview, Manalo said the Philippine-India relations "has never been better," highlighting both countries' effort to expand their partnership to various areas.
"Regarding Philippine-India relations, I'd say, especially over the past few years, we have basically grown through leaps and bounds. Our relationship has never been better, and the prognosis for the future is very optimistic because we are expanding cooperation in many areas, not only traditionally economic or trade, but even in the new areas of energy, AI (artificial intelligence), and cybersecurity, etc.," Manalo said.
The Secretary also cited their cooperation in defense, stressing that "there is a possibility in the near future of elevating the partnership formally to some kind of a strategic partnership."
Manalo also stated that the Philippines and India share a common view that the Indo-Pacific region should be a region which is free and open, open to peace, stability, and cooperation.
"And I think we have similar policies to try and ensure that we maintain this situation in the greater Indo-Pacific as well as the various parts of the Indo-Pacific region," he said.
Manalo is in India to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2025, a multilateral conference held annually in New Delhi.
The Philippines and India established formal diplomatic relations on Nov. 16, 1949.
In 2023, total trade with India reached $3.08 billion, with exports valued at $1.1 billion and imports at $1.98 billion.
India ranked as the Philippines’ 15th top trading partner.
There are 53 signed agreements between the Philippines and India in the fields of trade, investment, science and technology, maritime, air services, taxation, culture, energy, agriculture, and defense, among others.