Indian Council of World Affairs

His Excellency Enrique Manalo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines

Ambassador Teresita Daza, Director General, Foreign Service Institute and Spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines,

CDA John Santos

Distinguished Guests,

It is a privilege for Indian Council of World Affairs to host Secretary of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Enrique Manalo for the 42^nd Sapru House Lecture. I warmly welcome Secretary Manalo, a distinguished diplomat. He has  several Indian diplomats as his friends  who know him through his various assignments including in the Missions of the Philippines  to the UN in Geneva and New York and as the ASEAN SOM leader. I too had the privilege of knowing him.

I also extend a warm welcome to Ambassador Teresita Daza, who has earlier served as Ambassador of Philippines to India.  She is well-known here as a friend of India.

India and Philippines formally established diplomatic relations in November 1949. Our countries have a history of shared values and common approaches, on issues ranging from anti-colonialism to South-South cooperation, and both have strong democratic polities. Friendly bilateral relations have seen a resurgence in recent years.  Last August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and congratulated him on his election as President of the Philippines.  Earlier in 2022, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar, visited Manila and Secretary Locsin visited India. Your visit, Secretary Manalo, in first year of your tenure, is significant and marks the continuation of high-level interactions between our two countries.

India’s Act East Policy and the strengthened ASEAN-India relations have also had a positive impact on bilateral relations. Philippines is a key partner for India’s Act East Policy and an important factor in the emerging strategic framework in the Indo-Pacific region.

India and the Philippines striding the two corners of the Indo-Pacific region have vital stakes in upholding a rules-based order to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. India also understands that ASEAN has a critical role in issues of regional concern. India was among the first countries to support the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific  - AOIP, especially  as it has commonalities with India’s  own Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative - IPOI.

Recent global developments have underlined the need for greater cooperation and collaboration to face challenges like supply chain disruptions in energy, food, fertilizers that have deeply impacted the Global South. At the same time, nations are understanding, the value of working closely with others who share similar approaches and concerns. And countries are seeking  partnerships that prioritize responsible behaviour, trust and reliability.

Multilateral Institutions, including UNSC, need to reflect contemporary global realities to be  effective and relevant. India, as  the current G20  Chair, will also focus on multilateral institutions for 21^st century, issues of concern to Global South as well as  green development, lifestyle for environment, SDGs,  technology enabled development, women led development.

As we move into the future, there are  many  areas in which our two countries can work together  in multilateral and regional groupings and, at the same time,  expand bilateral ties  in existing as well as  newer areas such as defence and maritime security,  blue economy development cooperation, Fintech, digital economy, space.

We look forward to  Excellency Enrique Manalo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, of the  Republic of the Philippines  delivering the 42^nd Sapru House Lecture on “Shared Values and Common Outlook: The Journey of Philippines-India Cooperation”.

*****