Philippines' Marcos Jr to visit India Aug 4–8, to hold talks with PM Modi, President Murmu
Marcos after arrival in New Delhi on August 4 will meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. On August 5, he will lay a wreath at Rajghat.
Marcos will then hold talks with PM Modi in Hyderabad House. Exchange of Memoranda of Understanding and Press Statements will take place thereafter. Marcos will then meet JP Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare and thereafter President Droupadi Murmu.
The Philippines' President will then travel to Bengaluru and meet Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot.
At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ferdinand R Marcos Jr will pay a State Visit to India, a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
This would be the first visit of Marcos to India since the assumption of office of the President of the Philippines.
Diplomatic relations between India and the Philippines were established in November 1949. Both countries have since developed a strong partnership across a broad 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 the regional level, including through India's Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN.
The statement added that 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, it added.
India and the Philippines share warm and multifaceted bilateral relations rooted in historical ties and shared democratic values. Cooperation spans various sectors, including defence, trade, investment, and cultural exchange.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
14 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Another slip up by India in the trade pact with the U.K.
The India-United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) raises several questions regarding India's commitments in the CETA's intellectual property chapter (Chapter 13). A problematic article in this chapter is Article 13.6, 'Understandings Regarding TRIPS and Public Health Measures', in particular its first paragraph: 'The Parties recognise the preferable and optimal route to promote and ensure access to medicines is through voluntary mechanisms, such as voluntary licensing which may include technology transfer on mutually agreed terms' ( India's agreeing to this provision would result in dilution of its position on two critical issues. First, India consistently backed the use of compulsory licensing as opposed to voluntary licensing, to address high prices of patented medicines. Second, India argued that advanced countries must transfer technologies to developing countries on 'favourable terms', for their industrialisation, and also for reducing their carbon footprints. EXPLAINED | What does the new U.K.-India trade deal entail? Issue of pricing High prices of patented medicines are a serious anomaly of the patent system, due to excessive rent-seeking by patentees. Compulsory licensing of patented medicines can vastly improve the affordability of high-priced medicines by facilitating the production of such medicines. This was experienced following the grant of compulsory licence to Natco Pharma in 2012 for producing an anti-cancer medicine, sorafenib tosylate. The price came down to less than ₹8,800 for a month's treatment, from the ₹2,80,428 charged by the owner of the patent on the medicine, Bayer Corporation ( For remedying such instances of excessive rent-seeking, India's law-makers included compulsory licensing as a key safeguard while amending the Patents Act to make it compatible with the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Both Houses of the Parliament unanimously adopted this legislation after a Joint Parliamentary Committee had carefully considered its provisions ( Also Read | India, U.K. sign trade deal, PMs launch new partnership framework Grant of compulsory licence India's TRIPS-consistent Patents Act allows grant of compulsory licence to anyone interested in producing a patented product in India, three years after the grant of a patent. This licence can be granted if: reasonable requirements of the public with respect to the patented invention are not satisfied; or the patented invention is not available to the public at reasonably affordable price, or the patented invention is not 'worked' in the territory of India, implying, it has not been commercially exploited in the country ( Patent rules monitor 'working' requirement and, accordingly, patentees must submit the working status of their inventions. They had to do so annually until this requirement was diluted through India's FTA with the European Free Trade Association, with India agreeing that the periodicity of reporting 'shall not be less than 3 years' ( This dilution, has now been reinforced through the CETA, and it takes away an important ground for issuing compulsory licences. By backing voluntary licensing to address the problem of access to medicines, India has, de facto, given up its position as a strong votary of compulsory licensing in the WTO. A coalition of developing countries, including India earned the right to issue compulsory licences through the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in 2001, despite strident opposition from advanced countries. The Declaration emphasised, 'each Member has the right to grant compulsory licences and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licences are granted' ( Voluntary licences cannot ensure access to affordable medicines due to the weak bargaining position of domestic companies in developing countries vis-à-vis dominant pharmaceutical corporations. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a medical humanitarian organisation, observed that using the terms of voluntary licences, pharmaceutical corporations can set various limitations, including to control the supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients, besides imposing restrictions on licensees. Therefore, options for getting affordable access are compromised when voluntary licences are used ( The MSF's observations were proven when Cipla produced the anti-COVID drug, remdesivir, in India under a voluntary licence from Gilead Sciences, the owner of the patent on the medicine. The price of remdesivir fixed by Cipla for India was, in purchasing power terms, higher than that Gilead had charged in the United States. COMMENT | The India-U.K. FTA spells a poor deal for public health India's demand will be affected The CETA undermines India's demand for technology transfer 'on favourable terms' in several multilateral forums. This demand was first made through the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the New International Economic Order (NIEO) in 1974. A key aspect of the NIEO was the call for facilitated technology transfer from advanced to developing countries to promote the industrialisation efforts of the developing countries ( However, despite their best efforts, little progress was seen regarding technology transfer. The disappointment of developing countries was reflected in India's Fourth Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2024: 'Despite substantial national efforts and investments, barriers like slow international technology transfer and intellectual property rights (IPR) hinder the rapid adoption of [climate friendly] technologies' ( As India has compromised its long-held position that technology transfer to developing countries must be on 'favourable terms', its demand for climate-friendly technologies from advanced countries could lose its sting. Biswajit Dhar is former Professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. K.M. Gopakumar is Senior Researcher and Legal Adviser, Third World Network
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
CII's Vidarbha zonal office to boost regional growth
Nagpur: The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) opened a new Vidarbha Zonal office in the city. "The office will work as a platform to strengthen policy dialogue, innovation, and enterprise development in the region," said CII chairman Rishi Bagla. The office will also cover businesses in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The CII also held a seminar India@100 on boosting the region's development. In a written message to the CII, CM Devendra Fadnavis said Vidarbha has the potential to be at the forefront of India's growth story. "I am confident that this office will serve as a hub for inclusive development of the entire region," he said. "The region's location and resources make it uniquely positioned to become a hub for steel, agro-processing, manufacturing, and logistics," said Bagla. Shree Jamdar, the chairman of Vidarbha Zone, said that the region's growth must be inclusive, drawing strength from its MSMEs. CII will work towards unlocking local capacity. Chairman of Solar Industries Limited (SIL), Satyanarayan Nuwal, stressed on the need to have a strong resolve for growth. Director of IIM-Nagpur, Bhimraya Metri, emphasised the role of academia and industry partnership. Former MP Ajay Sancheti said Vidarbha would be the future growth centre. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Odias in US express concern over 25% tariffs on India
Bhubaneswar: The US's sweeping 25% tariffs on Indian exports have sparked concern among the Odia diaspora in North America, with professionals and entrepreneurs warning of far-reaching economic fallout. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Calling the move short-sighted, they fear it could fuel inflation in the US, hurt bilateral trade, and strain ties between the two nations at a time when global cooperation is critical. "The tariffs remind me of Kalidasa's branch-cutting metaphor. Experts feel it will harm the US more than India," said Debashis Sahoo, associate professor of computer science, engineering and paediatrics at the University of California, San Diego. Tariffs can lead to inflation by increasing the cost of imported goods and raw materials. When businesses face higher input costs due to tariffs, they often pass these on to consumers in the form of higher prices. "The prices of clothes, diamonds, and pharmaceuticals imported from India will increase, and consumers will end up paying more. However, the final effect still needs to be studied," said Akshaya Mohanty, a businessman from Rhode Island. Sanjay Dalai, an IT professional, said, "The tariffs will hurt US companies sourcing intermediate goods from India, such as automobile parts and IT hardware. Indian exporters will also suffer, particularly in sectors like steel, aluminium, engineering goods, textiles, and automobile parts." Dalai said that the move could adversely affect US-India relations, especially at a time when cooperation is crucial in technology, defence and critical minerals. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sahoo said that if India imposes retaliatory tariffs, it could further harm US exporters by restricting access to key markets. "Together, these effects could weaken America's economic competitiveness and slow down growth," said Sahoo. He added that the resulting price hike is likely to fuel inflation and reduce consumer spending.
