Philippines Ambassador to India submits recommendations to ease visa access
Josel Ignacio, Philippines Ambassador to India receiving the first copy of the report from Arun Alagappan, president, SICCI at the session.
| Photo Credit: M. Srinath
Josel Francisco Ignacio, Ambassador of the Republic of Philippines to India and his team have submitted a set of radical recommendations to ease visa access for Indians.
If approved by our authorities in Manila, it will substantially ease visa access for Indians. This is in keeping with the directive, by no less than our President, for the Philippines to look for ways to make India and its large outbound tourism, a major source of visitors to the Philippines, Mr. Ignacio said. He was addressing a Round Table on ‘Doing Business with Philippines to Foster Economic Growth and Partnership Opportunities’ organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI).
We have begun implementing the e-Visa in Delhi on a limited basis and are positioning ourselves for an all-India roll-out soon, he added.
He also said efforts are on to establish direct air connectivity between the two nations within this year.
Mr. Ignacio said the bilateral trade between India and Philippines had already crossed $3 billion in 2023 from $2.8 billion in the preceding year and ground work is on for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
Tamil Nadu was a designated “defence industrial corridor”, bolstered by its robust defence public sector units and start-ups that could contribute to the Philippines Armed Forces Modernization for which a budget of up to $35 billion spread over several years had been set apart, he said.
Ashwin C. Muthiah, Honorary Consul General for the Republic of Philippines said, to commemorate the 75th year of Philippines-India bilateral relations, the aim of the Honorary Consulate was to further elevate the partnership to not only strengthen existing ties but also to explore new avenues of cooperation.
He also said that the India-Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Co-operation attended by the Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines and the External Affairs Minister of India had called for the deepening of the relationship and co-operation in all fields such as defence, maritime, law enforcement, development, health & pharmaceuticals, tourism and civil aviation, agriculture, financial technology, Science and Technology, space, consular matters and cultural exchanges.
Mr. Arun Alagappan, president, SICCI said the stage is set for a dynamic trade partnership between India, especially Tamil Nadu and the Philippines.
Our proposed business delegation to the Philippines early next year is a testament to our commitment to strengthening ties, he added.
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