 "Philippines President Marcos in India for 5-day visit: Why this visit is significant")
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is on his first official visit to India from Monday to Friday (August 4-8, 2025) aimed at advancing cooperation between New Delhi and Manila.
The visit comes as the two nations commemorate 75 years of diplomatic relations.
This high-level state visit is expected to encompass a broad agenda – from defence and maritime security to trade, investment, and cultural exchange – and marks the first trip by a Filipino head of state to India since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s visit in 2007.
What’s on the Marcos agenda in India
Marcos, invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be accompanied by First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos, along with an entourage including senior Cabinet ministers, top bureaucrats, key dignitaries and business leaders.
During his stay in New Delhi, Marcos will meet with Modi on August 5 for in-depth bilateral talks.
In addition to Modi, he is slated to call on President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, with discussions expected to cover areas ranging from regional security concerns to bolstering economic ties.
According to the Philippine Communications Office (PCO), the official engagements won’t be limited to Delhi.
“After official meetings and events in New Delhi, the President and his delegation will travel to Bangalore. He will meet with the business sectors in both cities,” the PCO stated.
This Bengaluru leg will be a focal point for economic engagement, as Marcos interacts with leading Indian companies and potential investors.
Marcos will also hold a community outreach session with members of the Filipino diaspora in New Delhi.
The visit, spanning five days, signals Manila’s intent to strengthen strategic ties with one of Asia’s largest economies, while also providing New Delhi with a valuable opportunity to deepen its ‘Act East’ Policy.
The trip follows a long hiatus in top-level exchanges. The last time an Indian president visited the Philippines was Ram Nath Kovind in 2019, whereas Marcos’s journey will revive head-of-state diplomacy after nearly two decades.
India-Philippines defence a priority
Defence cooperation has emerged as one of the strongest anchors of India-Philippines relations, and it is set to be a highlight of this state visit.
In January 2022, Manila signed a $374.9 million agreement for the purchase of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system, making the Philippines the first foreign buyer of India’s flagship missile platform.
The first delivery of the BrahMos took place on April 19, 2024, an event that signalled growing strategic convergence between the two countries.
India has been steadily expanding its defence outreach to Southeast Asia, and with the Philippines, the collaboration spans military training, ship visits and maritime security dialogues.
Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels frequently make port calls to the Philippines – notable visits include INS Satpura in June 2022, INS Ranvijay and INS Kora in August 2021, and several earlier deployments.
These have often been accompanied by joint exercises, including the first-ever Navy-to-Navy Passage Exercise in the West Philippine Sea in 2021.
Cooperation has gone beyond drills and deployments. The two sides signed an MoU on Enhanced Maritime Cooperation in 2023, alongside a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for exchanging white-shipping information, allowing real-time sharing of data on commercial ships to bolster maritime security.
High-level defence engagements have also been frequent. A Philippine Coast Guard delegation led by CG Admiral Artemio M Abu visited India in August 2023, and the Philippine Army’s commanding general, Lt Gen Roy Mabagos Galido, travelled to India for the 13th Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs’ Conference in September 2023.
A 2006 Defence Cooperation MoU led to the creation of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC), which has convened four times, most recently in March 2023 in New Delhi.
A separate MoU on Defence Industry and Logistics Cooperation signed in 2017 resulted in a Joint Defence Industry and Logistics Committee (JDILC), which has met thrice, including in March 2022.
The armed forces of both countries also participate in specialised training exchanges. Philippine officers have attended India’s prestigious National Defence College (NDC), while Indian officers have been part of the Master in National Security Administration (MNSA) course in Manila.
Engagements extend to staff college programs and delegation visits, including multiple visits by Indian military education institutions such as the Army War College, Mhow.
During the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in 2024, Marcos articulated Manila’s vision, stating that his country “will pursue more robust collaboration with friends such as India.”
This declaration, alongside India’s consistent stance on freedom of navigation and territorial integrity in the South China Sea, positions the defence track as an area ripe for new agreements or expanded commitments during the visit.
What trade between India-Philippines looks like
While defence cooperation grabs headlines, trade and investment form the backbone of the India-Philippines relationship – and Marcos’s visit is expected to bring this into sharper focus.
Bilateral trade has grown steadily, hitting $3.53 billion in 2023-24, a year-on-year increase of 8.6 per cent.
India has maintained a healthy trade surplus, exporting $2.09 billion worth of goods to the Philippines while importing $1.43 billion.
Major Indian exports include:
Engineering goods and automotive parts
Pharmaceutical products (India supplies around 20 per cent of total pharma exports to ASEAN)
Steel, petroleum products, and chemicals
Electronics, plastics, rice, and bovine meat
Key imports from the Philippines to India feature:
Electrical machinery and semiconductors
Copper, lead, and precious stones
Plastics and ores
Food industry residues and animal fodder
According to trade data, Indian pharmaceutical products accounted for 15.96 per cent of Philippine pharmaceutical imports in 2023, putting a spotlight on India’s strong role in Manila’s healthcare sector.
Investment flows complement trade. Indian companies have invested an estimated $5 billion in the Philippines, largely in sectors like IT and BPO services, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and FMCG.
Conversely, Philippine investments in India are smaller but strategically placed, with firms like Ayala’s AC Energy Corporation and Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company (AG&P) active in renewable energy, construction, and infrastructure.
Efforts to further streamline commerce have been ongoing. In April 2022, the two countries signed an Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters (ratified in June 2023).
Additionally, talks on a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) were revived in December 2023, with negotiations continuing to frame the Terms of Reference for the Trade Negotiations Committee.
To encourage tourism and business exchanges, the Philippines recently introduced visa-free travel for Indian nationals, while direct flights between the two countries are expected to resume by late 2025 – a move that could significantly boost connectivity.
Why a strong India-Philippines bond matters
The visit holds significance beyond bilateral ties. India and the Philippines are both part of a wider Indo-Pacific strategic framework, sharing concerns about maritime security and trade routes.
The Ministry of External Affairs has framed the visit as part of India’s broader outreach to Southeast Asia, noting, “India’s relations with the Philippines are an integral pillar of our ‘Act East’ Policy, Vision MAHASAGAR and our vision of the Indo-Pacific. 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.”
India’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN also feeds into the relationship, and Marcos’s engagements in India are expected to highlight Manila’s role as a key Southeast Asian partner for New Delhi.
The Philippines, facing ongoing challenges in the South China Sea, views partnerships with like-minded countries as critical.
India, which has consistently upheld the principle of freedom of navigation and opposed unilateral changes to the status quo in maritime disputes, provides Manila with a supportive partner in this domain.
With inputs from agencies
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