Philippines president to visit India from Aug 4-8, hold talks with PM Modi

President of the Philippines, Ferdinand R Marcos Jr., is slated to visit India from August 4 to 8 during which he will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said.

This is his first visit to the country since assuming the office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines, it said.

The forthcoming state visit of President Marcos coincides with the 75th anniversary of India-Philippines diplomatic relations.

The visit is an opportunity for both leaders to "set the path for future bilateral cooperation", and to engage on regional and international issues of mutual interest, the MEA said.

Prime Minister Modi and President Marcos are scheduled to hold bilateral discussions on August 5, it said.

President Marcos will also be meeting President Murmu during his visit. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is also scheduled to call on him during the visit, the MEA said in a statement.

President Marcos will visit India from August 4 to 8 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.

"He will be accompanied by First Lady Madame Louise Araneta Marcos, and a high level delegation including several Cabinet ministers, other dignitaries and senior officials, in addition to business representatives," the MEA said.

President Marcos will also visit Bengaluru before returning to the Philippines on August 8.

Diplomatic relations between India and the Philippines were established in November 1949.

"Both countries have since developed a strong partnership across a wide spectrum of areas, including trade and investment, defence and security, maritime cooperation, agriculture, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and digital technologies. The two countries also engage closely at regional level, including through India's Comprehensive Strategic Partnership withEAN," the MEA said.

India's relations with the Philippines are "an integral pillar of our 'Act East' Policy, Vision MAHASAGAR and our vision of the Indo-Pacific", it said.