MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said his ongoing state visit to India has opened “a multitude of possibilities and areas of potential” for closer cooperation between the two countries, calling it one of his “most productive and constructive” foreign trips to date.
Speaking during a courtesy meeting with Indian President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Marcos expressed appreciation for the warm reception extended to him and the Philippine delegation and emphasized the growing partnership between the Philippines and India.
“Like my father before me, I will always cherish this state visit as a living proof of our shared desire to draw closer to each other,” Marcos said.
The President noted that despite the brief nature of the engagements, significant progress had already been made in bilateral talks.
“I have to say that we did not expect to cover much ground because of the little time that we had to share,” he said. “I am happy to be able to report that this was certainly not the case. This has been one of my most productive and constructive visits ever.”
Marcos said he was “much inspired” by the outcome of high-level meetings and looked forward to returning home with concrete gains and momentum to “carry forward the plans and initiatives that both sides agreed to.”
He attributed the positive developments to the “enduring closeness” between the two nations.
On Thursday, the President will proceed to Bengaluru, India’s technology and innovation hub, where he is scheduled to meet with industry leaders in digital infrastructure, startups, and advanced manufacturing to explore further avenues for collaboration./PN
