• India-Philippines Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment to meet soon: President, Republic of Philippines India looks at Philippines as trusted partner in the journey to reach $30 trillion by 2047: Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, GoI
  • Need to exponentially grow India-Philippines bilateral trade; Key sectors include health, pharma, IT, science & innovation, education, and agriculture: Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI, 06 August 2025: HE Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr, President of the Republic of the Philippines today said that India and Philippines are natural economic partners, both are Asia’s fastest growing economies, powered by young skilled force population. “We both are committed in building a resilient, innovation driven economies that deliver opportunities for our people,” he added.

Addressing the ‘India-Philippines CEO Roundtable Meeting’, organized by FICCI (as nodal Chamber), President HE Marcos stated that the government has taken a slew of measures to attract more Indian investments by ensuring ease of doing business in Philippines. “These reforms show our commitment to create a truly enabling environment for investors, including our valued partners in India. We are encouraged by the growing momentum in our bilateral trade, which reached $ 3.3 billion in 2024-2025 and there is a scope to achieve exponential growth,” he added.

Speaking on the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), President HE  Marcos emphasized that Philippines and India see the PTA as a strategic platform to harness our shared strengths and elevate our economic partnership. “We are working to find common ground to make the PTA come as quickly as possible. We have found ways to quicken the process with strong support from both government and business chambers, we are taking concrete steps towards launching formal negotiations,” he added.

Highlighting the potential areas for investment, President HE Marcos said that we are also encouraging stronger business to business collaboration in sectors like ICT, digital technology, semiconductors, renewable energy, infrastructure, health care, pharmaceuticals and agriculture. “These sectors are aligned with our development priorities and global opportunities. The central tenant of our plans for development in the Philippines is to regard our private sectors as partners in the development program,” he stated.

He further added that the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry will work with Indian counterparts, to soon convene the meeting of Joint Working Group on trade and investment. “We are not only going to have meetings of joint working group on trade and investment, but we will also granulate down to industry specific working groups,” noted President HE Marcos.

Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India said that India and Philippines are celebrating 75 years of unwavering friendship, diplomatic relations, and there is huge potential before us in the years to come. The bilateral trade, he said, today is very low and starting from a low base our ambitions should be huge. “This is one partnership where we should only aim for exponential growth and not be satisfied with incremental growth at all. Let us work together and collaborate in areas like healthcare, pharmaceuticals, information technology, science, innovation and agriculture,” he stressed.

Goyal also stated that both nations are working on Preferential Trade Agreement, and we have finalized the terms of reference which we hope to start quickly. “We can use this as a basis for strengthening our bilateral ties and expanding businesses in both nations. As we move towards becoming the third-largest economy in the world in the next couple of years and as we take Indian economy from the current $4 trillion to $30 trillion by 2047, we would look at the Philippines as our trusted partner,” he emphasized.

Goyal added that let us create a digital and innovation bridge between the two nations, increase people to people engagements. “We are looking at the next frontier of this partnership from oceans to outer space,” he said.

Hon Ms Cristina Roque, Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippines said, “Our strategic location in Southeast Asia, and preferential access to key markets through our extensive network of free trade agreements, also makes us one of the most reliable partners.”

Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, President, FICCI & Vice Chairman and MD, Emami Ltd said, “India and the Philippines share a relationship grounded in mutual respect, shared democratic values, and a growing convergence of economic interests. As two of Asia’s fastest-growing economies, we are uniquely positioned to unlock the potential of our partnership across a wide range of sectors—from infrastructure and pharmaceuticals to digital technology, automotive, Agro-food processing, clean energy, and innovation-driven enterprises.”\

Anant Goenka, Senior Vice President, FICCI while sharing the industry perspective urged the Philippines President to look at expediting the approval process for generic drugs. The reduction in approval timelines to 6-9 months from the current 36-42 months will help in faster drug registrations and help in reducing the price of these drugs for the citizens in Philippines.

Rex Daryanani, Chairman, FICCI Philippines said, “Philippines is not just open for business, it is ready for partnerships, innovation, and shared success. Philippines is a place where investments don’t just survive, they thrive; the government is a partner, the environment is business-friendly, and the opportunities are boundless.”

Ms Jyoti Vij, Director General, FICCI said, “At FICCI, we remain committed to facilitating business dialogue, policy advocacy, and trade partnerships. We look forward to building on today’s dialogue and enhancing India–Philippines business cooperation going forward.”