NEW DELHI, 6 October 2007 — India and the Philippines yesterday expanded their political and economic ties by signing nine pacts in areas ranging from trade to energy and health to fighting terrorism.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Alberto G. Romulo signed a joint declaration on a framework of bilateral cooperation, which seeks to establish a multifaceted partnership between India and the Philippines, officials said.
The declaration was signed after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with visiting Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on a wide range of bilateral and global issues, including the UN reforms, climate change and the festering human rights crisis in Myanmar.
“India has played a very important role in the culture of Philippines way back before the Spanish colonized us. We want to revive our cultural ties,” Arroyo told reporters after being accorded a ceremonial reception in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
“India is now the fourth largest economy in the world and with that comes great responsibilities of India to its neighbors in the economic, political and security fields. And as one of the neighbors of India in the East Asian region, we are happy to be here to move the integration of our economies forward,” she said.
Arroyo was received at Rashtrapati Bhavan by her Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil and Manmohan Singh.
The two sides inked a joint declaration to combat international terrorism, envisaging information-sharing, cooperation among law enforcing agencies, and in capacity-building, and preventing and suppressing financing of terrorist acts.
Three more agreements on the establishment of a joint commission, visa-free travel for holders of official and diplomatic passports of both countries and cooperation between training institutes for diplomats of the two countries were signed by Mukherjee and Romulo. A memorandum of understanding on enhanced cooperation in the field of renewable energy was signed by Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar and the Philippines Secretary of Energy Angelo T. Reyes.
Agreements were also signed for utilization of a $15 million credit line between the government of the Philippines and the Exim Bank of India, and one between the State Trading Corporation of India and the Philippines International Trading Corporation.
The two countries also signed a pact on cooperation in the field of health and medicine, since low-cost but good quality Indian medicines are in great demand in the Philippines.
