India Philippines foreign Relations & Importance
India Philippines Political Defence Relations
India and Philippines formally established diplomatic relations on 26 November, 1949, shortly after both countries gained independence, Philippines in 1946 and India in 1947. The relations between the two countries are underpinned by shared values and commonalities such as anti-colonialism, South-South cooperation and the wide use of English; Philippines prides itself as the first democratic country of Asia and India as the largest democracy. During the Cold War, the policies of the two countries were divergent. Despite this, bilateral high level visits kept the relations steady and warm. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made a stop-over visit to Manila in 1981 on her way back from Australia. President R. Venkatraman paid a state visit to Philippines in 1991.From the Philippines Vice President Diosdado Macapagal visited India in
1961. Starting with the nineties, frequency of summit-level meetings has increased. President Ramos visited India in March 1997 followed by the visit of President Arroyo in October 2007. From India, President Abdul Kalam visited Philippines in February 2006. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Philippines in January 2007 to attend the ASEAN and East Asia Summits. He had bilateral meeting with President Arroyo. In addition, there have been interactions at the level of Foreign Ministers and other ministers and senior
figures of the two governments.
Regular foreign policy and security dialogue meetings (from 1994 and 2004 respectively) between the two countries have been taking place, the last one was held in October 2009 (Ninth Foreign Policy Dialogue and Third Security Dialogue) in Manila. The first Joint Commission between the two countries, at the level of Foreign Ministers, took place in New Delhi on 15 March, 2011.The Philippines supported India’s candidature for the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.
Several Indian navy ships and Indian coast guard ships have visited the Philippines in 2010 and 2011. Officers from the Philippines Armed Forces are attending courses in India and vice and versa. A National Defence College delegation visited the Philippines in May, 2011.
Potential for bilateral engagement has increased considerably in the current global and regional environment and with deepening relations between India and ASEAN in the context of India’s ‘Look East Policy’.
India Philippines Economic and Commerce Relations
The current era of globalization, characterized by liberal trade regimes followed by most countries, has positively impacted on bilateral relations. Trade has more than trebled from US $ 338.50 million in 2001-02 to US $ 1061.84 million in 2009-10. Thus, the target set for US $ 1 billion trade by 2010 in the eighth Foreign Policy dialogue has been reached. Required agreements / MoUs for facilitation of economic and commercial relations such as avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion, agreement for promotion and protection of investments, MoU for cooperation in the field of Agriculture and related fields
have been signed. The India – Philippines Joint Working Group (JWG) on Trade and Economic Relations has been meeting regularly under the joint chairmanship of Commerce Secretary and Philippines Undersecretary for Trade and Industry. The last (Tenth) JWG Meeting was held in New Delhi on 21-22 November 2008.
The first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Agriculture took place in New Delhi in August 2008; the second JWG on the same subject is expected to take place in Manila in the near future. The first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Tourism took place in Manila in July 2008. The Philippines Airlines have started direct flights between Manila and New Delhi since March, 2011. To facilitate faster growth of tourism and people-to-people contacts, Prime Minister announced at the Hanoi India-ASEAN Summit on 30 October, 2010 the tourist visa-on-arrival facility for the citizens of the Philippines with effect from 1 January, 2011.
Economic cooperation is expected to be significantly enhanced by the operationalisation of the India - ASEAN FTA in trade-in-goods with effect from 1 June, 2011. India and ASEAN are also negotiating an FTA in services and investment which would be especially beneficial given that both economies have
a large services sector.
Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, who is equated with the Union Minister of Trade and Industry, led a large delegation to India in March, 2011, to attend the First India-ASEAN Business Fair in New Delhi during the course of which he met his Indian counterpart.
India Philippines Cultural Rleations
A Cultural Exchange Agreement between the two countries was signed in 1969 under which a new CEP for the years 2011-13 was signed in New Delhi on 15 March, 2011. A number of events such as visits of dance troupes, film shows, painting exhibition have been taking place even in the absence of CEP. Most
recently, Prof. Nagasura Madale, anthropologist and consultant on special projects, Capitol University, Cagayan de Oro City, participated in an ICCR- sponsored conference on ‘Cultural and Historical Links between India and South- East Asia’ in Jakarta in October, 2010. At the invitation of the Sahitya Akademy,
the celebrated author and poetess, Prof. Merlie Alunan, visited India on the Anand Kumaraswamy Fellowship in September-October, 2010. Rabindranath Tagore’s famous play, ‘The Post Office’, was recently staged, after adaptation for the Philippines audience, by the Philippines Educational Theatre Association. An
Indian sitar group, led by Shri Zunain Khan, and a sarod group, led by Shri Abhijit Roychoudhury, participated in 3rd International Rondalla/Plucked String Festival organised by the Philippines National Commission for Culture and the Arts in February, 2011. A 7-member Odissi dance troupe, led by Padmashree Ranjana Gauhar, gave two recitals in Manila in July, 2011.
Philippines is also one of the beneficiaries of programmes under ITEC and Colombo Plan. In 2011-12, 35 slots each under ITEC and the Colombo Plan have been allocated to the Philippines. Utilization has ranged above 90% in the past 3 years. So far more than 800 Philippines nationals have benefited under these schemes, covering a wide range of technical courses, such as rural development; agriculture; small scale industries, banking, finance and management; quality control and marketing; planning and public administration; textiles, computer software; research and development, water resources management, etc.
The year 2009 was celebrated as the 60th year of diplomatic relations between India and Philippines. A series of activities took place during the year to commemorate the occasion. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce held a special function in Manila to recognize the people and organizations that have contributed to the development of relations between the two countries. The then President Arroyo graced the occasion and delivered a speech. A seminar on India - Philippines relations was held in the University of Philippines on 23rd September 2009. A first ever painting exhibition of modern Indian artists was
inaugurated on 5th November in Manila Metropolitan Museum. Commemorative stamps were released by India in November 2009 and by Philippines in December 2009 respectively to mark the anniversary.
India and Philippines formally established diplomatic relations on 26 November, 1949, shortly after both countries gained independence, Philippines in 1946 and India in 1947. The relations between the two countries are underpinned by shared values and commonalities such as anti-colonialism, South-South cooperation and the wide use of English; Philippines prides itself as the first democratic country of Asia and India as the largest democracy. During the Cold War, the policies of the two countries were divergent. Despite this, bilateral high level visits kept the relations steady and warm. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made a stop-over visit to Manila in 1981 on her way back from Australia. President R. Venkatraman paid a state visit to Philippines in 1991.From the Philippines Vice President Diosdado Macapagal visited India in
1961. Starting with the nineties, frequency of summit-level meetings has increased. President Ramos visited India in March 1997 followed by the visit of President Arroyo in October 2007. From India, President Abdul Kalam visited Philippines in February 2006. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Philippines in January 2007 to attend the ASEAN and East Asia Summits. He had bilateral meeting with President Arroyo. In addition, there have been interactions at the level of Foreign Ministers and other ministers and senior
figures of the two governments.
Regular foreign policy and security dialogue meetings (from 1994 and 2004 respectively) between the two countries have been taking place, the last one was held in October 2009 (Ninth Foreign Policy Dialogue and Third Security Dialogue) in Manila. The first Joint Commission between the two countries, at the level of Foreign Ministers, took place in New Delhi on 15 March, 2011.The Philippines supported India’s candidature for the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.
Potential for bilateral engagement has increased considerably in the current global and regional environment and with deepening relations between India and ASEAN in the context of India’s ‘Look East Policy’.
India Philippines Economic and Commerce Relations
The current era of globalization, characterized by liberal trade regimes followed by most countries, has positively impacted on bilateral relations. Trade has more than trebled from US $ 338.50 million in 2001-02 to US $ 1061.84 million in 2009-10. Thus, the target set for US $ 1 billion trade by 2010 in the eighth Foreign Policy dialogue has been reached. Required agreements / MoUs for facilitation of economic and commercial relations such as avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion, agreement for promotion and protection of investments, MoU for cooperation in the field of Agriculture and related fields
have been signed. The India – Philippines Joint Working Group (JWG) on Trade and Economic Relations has been meeting regularly under the joint chairmanship of Commerce Secretary and Philippines Undersecretary for Trade and Industry. The last (Tenth) JWG Meeting was held in New Delhi on 21-22 November 2008.
The first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Agriculture took place in New Delhi in August 2008; the second JWG on the same subject is expected to take place in Manila in the near future. The first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Tourism took place in Manila in July 2008. The Philippines Airlines have started direct flights between Manila and New Delhi since March, 2011. To facilitate faster growth of tourism and people-to-people contacts, Prime Minister announced at the Hanoi India-ASEAN Summit on 30 October, 2010 the tourist visa-on-arrival facility for the citizens of the Philippines with effect from 1 January, 2011.
Economic cooperation is expected to be significantly enhanced by the operationalisation of the India - ASEAN FTA in trade-in-goods with effect from 1 June, 2011. India and ASEAN are also negotiating an FTA in services and investment which would be especially beneficial given that both economies have
a large services sector.
Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, who is equated with the Union Minister of Trade and Industry, led a large delegation to India in March, 2011, to attend the First India-ASEAN Business Fair in New Delhi during the course of which he met his Indian counterpart.
India Philippines Cultural Rleations
A Cultural Exchange Agreement between the two countries was signed in 1969 under which a new CEP for the years 2011-13 was signed in New Delhi on 15 March, 2011. A number of events such as visits of dance troupes, film shows, painting exhibition have been taking place even in the absence of CEP. Most
recently, Prof. Nagasura Madale, anthropologist and consultant on special projects, Capitol University, Cagayan de Oro City, participated in an ICCR- sponsored conference on ‘Cultural and Historical Links between India and South- East Asia’ in Jakarta in October, 2010. At the invitation of the Sahitya Akademy,
the celebrated author and poetess, Prof. Merlie Alunan, visited India on the Anand Kumaraswamy Fellowship in September-October, 2010. Rabindranath Tagore’s famous play, ‘The Post Office’, was recently staged, after adaptation for the Philippines audience, by the Philippines Educational Theatre Association. An
Indian sitar group, led by Shri Zunain Khan, and a sarod group, led by Shri Abhijit Roychoudhury, participated in 3rd International Rondalla/Plucked String Festival organised by the Philippines National Commission for Culture and the Arts in February, 2011. A 7-member Odissi dance troupe, led by Padmashree Ranjana Gauhar, gave two recitals in Manila in July, 2011.
Philippines is also one of the beneficiaries of programmes under ITEC and Colombo Plan. In 2011-12, 35 slots each under ITEC and the Colombo Plan have been allocated to the Philippines. Utilization has ranged above 90% in the past 3 years. So far more than 800 Philippines nationals have benefited under these schemes, covering a wide range of technical courses, such as rural development; agriculture; small scale industries, banking, finance and management; quality control and marketing; planning and public administration; textiles, computer software; research and development, water resources management, etc.
The year 2009 was celebrated as the 60th year of diplomatic relations between India and Philippines. A series of activities took place during the year to commemorate the occasion. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce held a special function in Manila to recognize the people and organizations that have contributed to the development of relations between the two countries. The then President Arroyo graced the occasion and delivered a speech. A seminar on India - Philippines relations was held in the University of Philippines on 23rd September 2009. A first ever painting exhibition of modern Indian artists was
inaugurated on 5th November in Manila Metropolitan Museum. Commemorative stamps were released by India in November 2009 and by Philippines in December 2009 respectively to mark the anniversary.
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