India and Philippines signed agreements to strengthen trade, fight terror and develop renewable energy during a visit by Philippine President Arroyo.
NEW DELHI: India and the Philippines pledged on Friday to strengthen trade, fight terror and develop renewable energy sources in a slew of agreements signed during a visit by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.
Arroyo is in India for a three-day visit that has seen her call on New Delhi to increase trade with her country as part of the South Asian nation's "Look East" foreign policy. The eight agreements signed aim to boost bilateral cooperation in a variety of areas, India's foreign ministry said in a statement that came after Arroyo met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Foreign officials from the two countries also signed an accord on anti-terror cooperation. "It envisages information-sharing, cooperation amongst law enforcing agencies, cooperation in capacity building and in the prevention and suppression of the financing of terrorist acts," the Indian statement said.
After meeting with Singh on Friday, Arroyo, who is accompanied by about 40 businessmen, went on to speak to a gathering of India's three top trade and business bodies. The Philippine leader has invited Indian companies to do more business in her country.
"We urge Indian companies to look eastwards. Currently the balance of trade is lopsided in India's favour," Arroyo said in a speech to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Mumbai, India's financial capital on Thursday.
Making the first visit to India in a decade by a Philippine president, Arroyo said her country was sourcing cheaper medicines from India to boost its healthcare system. "We are bullish on India," she said, adding that India was also "obligated to its neighbours."
Mining investment is high on the agenda, Benjamin Philip Romualdez, of the Philippines Chamber of Mines, told reporters, with at least 24 mining projects in the pipeline and 35 in the exploratory stage.
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