Manila and New Delhi: A 21st Century Partnership

Source: The post is based on the article “Manila and New Delhi: A 21st Century Partnership” published in The Indian Express on 29th June 2023. 

Syllabus: GS2- Bilateral and regional groupings 

Relevance: India-Philippines Relations 

News:  Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines will be meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister for the fifth iteration of the Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation in New Delhi. 

What is the potential generated by the partnership between India and the Philippines? 

India’s economic trajectory indicates that it will become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027. Meanwhile, the Philippines is on the threshold of achieving upper-middle-income status and becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2033. 

Both nations are promoting greater inclusion and the empowerment of growing populations. They are driving smarter strategies for a prosperous and climate-proof future. 

Between 2009 and 2022, some 280 billion Philippine pesos were invested in renewable energy technologies in the Philippines, almost half of them going to solar energy.  

Synergies can also be unlocked in the context of the “Digital India” project and the Philippines’ spirited shoring up of our digital infrastructure.  

The Philippines is working to become a spacefaring country by 2030. Capacity-building and collaboration between the Philippine Space Agency and the ISRO are on the horizon. 

In defence and security, the signing of a $374-million contract for the procurement by the Philippines’ defence forces of India’s BrahMos Shore-based Anti-Ship Missile System in January 2022, signals only a first step. 

India’s “Act East Policy” also aims to strengthen economic, strategic, and cultural relations in the Indo-Pacific region. 

What is the way forward? 

To harness the power of the Indo-Pacific as a catalyst for growth, more intensified regional cooperation is essential.  

Stronger economic integration, improved connectivity, and increased innovation are key to buttressing the region as a global economic powerhouse.