Jaishankar Heads To Manila To Boost Ties, Days After BrahMos Deal
Manila/New Delhi, Feb 13: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar heads to the Philippines today for a three-day working visit, in the backdrop of New Delhi and Manila inking a USD 374.96 million deal for three batteries of BrahMos missiles for the Philippines Navy.
MEA Jaishankar is set to meet Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to discuss the current and future directions of Philippines-India relations, including health and security cooperation, as well as other regional and global matters of mutual interest. “Minister Jaishankar’s visit is considered an affirmation of the commitment between the Philippines and India to further their relations in a post-Covid world,” the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs said.
The two top diplomats are expected to review developments in bilateral relations since the meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation that they co-chaired in virtual format in November 2020. Among the subjects discussed back then were ways to address the global health crisis, cooperation in health and pharmaceuticals, and economic revitalization in the fields of agriculture, energy, and information and communications technology.
Also discussed were potential cooperation in maritime security, intelligence-sharing, military training, procurement and logistics, combatting terrorism, expanding air linkages and tourism, supporting growing educational and student exchanges, and in the promising areas of alternative and traditional medicine, vaccine development, and renewable energy, it said.
Apart from meeting Filipino leaders, Jaishankar would visit the Indian community in Manila during his trip. The visit is expected to impart further momentum to bilateral relations with the Philippines, which is also a leading member of ASEAN.
The deal with BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd is for supply of shore-based supersonic cruise missile systems for the Philippines navy, as well as training for operators and maintainers as well as the necessary Integrated Logistics Supply package.
The Coastal Defense Regiment of the Philippine Marines will be the primary user of this modern strategic defense capability. Jaishankar heads to Manila from Melbourne where he attended the Fourth Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, and held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the US, Australia and Japan.
