On his first visit to Philippines, Jaishankar holds talks with Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Manila, Feb 14: On his strategically important visit to the Philippines, Indian external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar on Monday held wide-ranging talks with Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Teodoro L Locsin. This visit comes after the Southeast Asian country signed a USD 375 million deal with India to buy three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile.

 

 

 

“Secretary @teddyboylocsin and Minister @DrSJaishankar are expected to discuss the current robust ties between PH and India as well as future directions of bilateral relations,” he Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines tweeted on Monday.

 

 

The two officials will discuss health and security, as well as other regional and global matters of mutual interest, especially as countries continue to engage post-COVID, it said. Earlier, Jaishankar was welcomed by Secretary Locsin upon his arrival at the Foreign Ministry for talks.

 

 

Ahead of the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that the two ministers will review developments in bilateral relations since the meeting of the joint commission on bilateral cooperation that they co-chaired in the virtual format in November 2020. The MEA said regional and international issues of mutual interest would also be discussed.

 

 

“The visit is expected to impart further momentum to bilateral relations with our key partners in the Indo-Pacific, Australia, and the Philippines, which is also a leading member of ASEAN,” the MEA said. Jaishankar arrived here from Australia where he attended the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting and also held separate bilateral talks with his Quad counterparts