THE Philippines and India have reaffirmed their mutual commitment to further boost bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation, the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of International Trade Relations (DTI-BITR) said on Thursday.
On June 5, Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty and India’s Department of Commerce-Ministry of Commerce and Industry Joint Secretary Amit Verma met at the 14th Philippines-India Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment (JWGTI) in Makati.
The JWGTI is the primary bilateral platform for discussing trade and investment issues and identifying new avenues for economic cooperation between the Philippines and India.
Gepty and Varma discussed the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement Review.
In 2024, the two-way merchandise trade between Asean and India totaled $106.83 billion, while total foreign direct investments from India amounted to $3.5 billion.
The two officials also talked about the Philippine-India Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
“Both sides recognized the potential of a PTA to further expand trade and investment opportunities, and agreed to continue discussions on the subsequent steps to commence the negotiations,” the DTI-BITR said.
Negotiations for a PTA with India began in 2023. The goal was to reduce or eliminate tariffs on various goods.
Gepty and Varma likewise discussed participation in both countries’ trade fairs and exhibits, customs cooperation, renewable energy, information and communications technology, information technology-business process management, artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, film and other areas of mutual interest.
Measures to facilitate trade, address market access concerns and strengthen business-to-business linkages were also discussed.
The talks were held after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to India in August 2025.
In 2025 and 2026, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $3.9 billion covering sustained engagements across pharmaceuticals, IT services, machinery, critical minerals and agricultural products.
