New Delhi/Manila: India and the Philippines elevated their ties to a strategic partnership on Tuesday during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to New Delhi, as the two countries also move to boost trade and defense engagements.
Marcos is on a five-day visit to India, where he was accorded full ceremonial honors involving a military parade and formal reception before he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two leaders jointly declared the strategic partnership and agreed to boost cooperation across various areas, including culture, tourism and space.
“India and the Philippines are friends by choice, and partners by destiny. From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, we are united by shared values. Ours is not just a friendship of the past, it is a promise to the future,” Modi said in a joint press statement.
After their navies sailed together for the first time in the South China Sea on Monday, the two countries also agreed on Tuesday to bolster defense collaboration.
