Philippines President Marcos Jr Coming to India August 4–8: Here’s What’s on the Agenda

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will be visiting India from August 4 to 8. His visit comes after an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs in an official statement. The President will be accompanied by First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos. Along with them, a high-level delegation comprising a group of Cabinet Ministers, senior officials, and several business leaders will also be part of the visit.

This will be President Marcos’ first official visit to India since he took office in 2022. A key highlight of the visit will be his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi on August 5. Besides this, he will also meet India’s President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. As part of his schedule, he will visit Bengaluru before heading back to the Philippines on August 8.

75 Years of Strong Bilateral Ties

India and the Philippines started diplomatic relations in November 1949. Since then, both countries have worked closely together in many areas. These include trade, defence, agriculture, maritime cooperation, digital technology, health, and pharmaceuticals. The relationship has grown stronger over time, and both sides also work together at the regional level, especially through India’s strong partnership with ASEAN.

Part of Indo-Pacific cooperation

India sees its relationship with the Philippines as important to its ‘Act East Policy’, ‘Vision MAHASAGAR’, and the wider Indo-Pacific strategy. This visit is also special because it marks 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The visit is expected to help both nations work more closely on key regional and global issues and further deepen their friendship.

Visa-free rule increases travel interest

Travel interest from India to the Philippines has grown recently. According to visa platform Atlys, searches for the Philippines rose by 28 percent after the country announced visa-free entry for Indian visitors. Indian nationals can now enter the Philippines without a visa for up to 14 days. Earlier, the country was the eighth most searched destination in Southeast Asia by Indian users on the Atlys platform.