MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. left for India on Monday morning (Aug 4) for a five-day state visit.
The plane carrying Marcos left at around 10:44 a.m.
In his pre-departure statement, Marcos highlighted the Philippines and India’s maritime ties, emphasising their shared strategic interests and values.
“Our geostrategic position as coastal states that border the busiest international trade routes and critical sea lines of communication in the Indo-Pacific region, our shared interest in protecting the rights and welfare of our international seafarers, our steadfastness in upholding international maritime law, including Unclos and the 2016 Arbitral Award, and our unwavering commitment to regional peace and cooperation serve as credible foundations of our active and growing maritime cooperation,” he said.
Marcos said he plans to explore ways the Philippines and India can work together in many areas, including defence, trade, investment, health, pharmaceuticals, connectivity, agriculture, tourism and more.
He also hoped that the two countries’ commonalities would lead to a “deeper, broader, and more meaningful” bilateral cooperation that would promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the wider Indo-Pacific region.
“I want this visit to bring concrete benefits for the Filipino people, such as more affordable medicine and greater connectivity and food security,” the President said.
“It is incumbent upon us, now more than ever, to maximise the opportunities in trade and investment with the world’s fourth-largest economy,” he added.
The state visit, scheduled from August 4 to 8, is at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Philippines and India are expected to sign at least six agreements during the visit, Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq said at a briefing last week.
Among other activities of Marcos are a meeting with the Filipino community in New Delhi, a bilateral meeting with Modi, and a meeting with Indian President Droupadi Murmu and other key officials.
Several Indian chief executive officers have also requested to meet Marcos in Bangalore, tagged as the “Silicon Valley of India”. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
