1. A high-level delegation, led by Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, Hon’ble Mr. Albert F. Del Rosario, is visiting New Delhi on 15 March, 2011, for the first meeting of the India-Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation [JCBC] being held at the ministerial level. During his meeting with His Excellency Mr. S. M. Krishna, External Affairs Minister of India, bilateral issues, regional and global issues of common interest, including strengthening cooperation in the multilateral forums such as ASEAN, East Asia Summit and the United Nations, would come up for their review.

2.   The first meeting of the bilateral joint commission, at the ministerial level, taking place against the background of global and regional trends and ongoing developments, signifies a shared desire between the leaderships of both our countries to upgrade the foreign office dialogue mechanism to deepen further our convergent interests. Following the ministerial review of the cooperation, an agreement on cultural exchanges for the years 2011- 2013 is also expected to be signed between the representatives of the two governments. Amongst the senior officials in the delegation is Undersecretary, DFA, Ambassador Erlinda Basilio.

3. The visit of Secretary for Foreign Affairs is taking place very shortly after the visit of Hon’ble Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry, who had led an official and business delegation, for the India-ASEAN Business Fair and Meet. Simultaneously, high-level Philippines participation at the international conference, ‘Delhi Dialogue III’, was evident in the presence of former ASEAN Secretary General, Hon’ble Mr. Rudolfo Severino, Undersecretary, Department of National Defence, and other representatives of the media and the academe.

4.The increasing interaction between the leaderships, high officials, eminent personalities from the academe, business and the media, will channelise the growing synergy between our two countries the wellsprings of which lie not only in our robust economies but also shared values. The launching of the direct air service between Manila and New Delhi from 27 March, 2011 by the Philippines Air Lines would provide the right stimulus for accelerated growth of our relations across a broad spectrum.