India, Philippines to sign 8 pacts, discuss Myanmar

By IANS

New Delhi : India and the Philippines, an influential ASEAN country, will sign eight pacts in areas ranging from counter-terrorism to energy and trade after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds talks with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo here Friday.


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Arroyo, during her talks with Manmohan Singh, is also likely to seek India’s help in pressing the Myanmar junta towards political reforms.

Arroyo begins her four-day visit to India from Mumbai – the country’s financial hub – late Wednesday. She flies to Mumbai after wrapping up her two-day visit to Beijing.

Arroyo comes here Thursday night after addressing India’s top businessmen in Mumbai. All her major official engagements, including talks with Manmohan Singh, President Pratibha Patil, and calls on her by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, are scheduled for Friday.

India and the Philippines will sign a declaration on a framework of bilateral cooperation and another agreement on the establishment of a joint commission, the external affairs ministry said here Wednesday while announcing Arroyo’s visit.

A joint declaration to combat terrorism will also be inked by the two sides.

A memorandum of agreement that will enable visa free travel for the holders of diplomatic and official passports of both countries will be signed. Two trade-related pacts and one on energy cooperation will also be inked.

Expanding business ties between the two growing economies of Asia is high on Arroyo’s agenda with 41 top business leaders accompanying her on this trip.

In her talks with Manmohan Singh, Arroyo is likely to nudge him to take a stronger position on the festering crisis in Myanmar where a violent clampdown by government forces on pro-democracy protesters have killed over 10 people, including Buddhist monks who have been spearheading the biggest pro-democracy movement in the last two decades.

In unusually strong words, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), of which the Philippines is a key member, has expressed “revulsion” against the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Myanmar.

After a couple of official statements calling for broad-based and inclusive political reforms and national reconciliation in Myanmar, New Delhi Monday urged the junta to order a probe into the uses of violence to quell pro-democracy protesters in the troubled country.

The US and the European Union have asked India and China to use their influence to push for reforms and dialogue in Myanmar.

A bilateral air agreement that will grant more entitlements to Philippine carriers Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines will also be discussed.

The Philippines, an ally of the US, reacted frostily to India’s nuclear tests in 1998, but after India and the US struck a landmark civil nuclear deal in 2005, Manila is looking afresh at New Delhi as a rising power and IT hub.

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