India-Philippines trade talks
India and the Philippines have outlined cooperation and initiatives to strengthen trade and investment as well as improve market access for both countries.
Senior trade officials from both countries discussed ways to improve bilateral trade at the recently held 12th Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade and Investments (JWGTI) in New Delhi.
The meeting identified areas of cooperation in coconut (production, processing and commercialization), rice, customs, Science and Technology, Information Communication Technology (ICT), pharmaceuticals, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) development, and higher education.
Both countries also pledged to jointly develop a mechanism for sharing statistical data and to fast-track the development, signing, and implementation of pending Memoranda of Understanding between the Philippines and India.
Two-way trade between the Philippines and India reached US$1.8 billion for the fiscal year 2014-2015 while registered Indian Investment Promotion Agency (IPA)-approved foreign investments to the Philippines amounted to Ph peso1.75 billion in 2015, according to a statement by the Department of Trade and Industry in Manila.
This includes the Philippines’ priority sectors for investments such as Information Communications Technology (IT and IT enabled services and Business Process Management). Fourteen of India’s IT-BPM companies also established operations in the country.
The 13th JWGTI is set to be held in Manila on the third quarter of 2017. fii-news.com
