ESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

as of 16 January 2017 (on going updates)

The Philippines established diplomatic relations with India on 16 November 1949, shortly after both countries gained independence on 1946 and 1947, respectively.

Seven years after India's independence in 1947, the Philippines and India signed a Treaty of Friendship on 11 July 1952 in Manila to strengthen and perpetuate the friendly relations existing between the two countries. Soon after, the Philippine Legation in New Delhi was established and then elevated to an Embassy. The first Philippine envoy to India was the late Foreign Secretary Narciso Ramos.

The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in New Delhi, designed by renowned Filipino architect Federico Ilustre, was established in 1952 by the Philippines’ first ambassador to India, Narciso G. Ramos. It is located at 50-N Nyaya Marg within the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri on a roughly 2.5 hectares of lot acquired through the Government of India.

TIMELINE OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN PHILIPPINES-INDIA RELATIONS

YEAR / PERIOD	SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
26 November 1949	Establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of India.
1949	The Philippines and India concluded an Air Services Agreement which would be amended in 2005.
08 April 1952	H.E. Mirza Rashid Ali Baig presented his credentials to the Philippine President, becoming the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (AEP) of India to the Philippines. The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines reports: At the ceremonies marking the presentation of credentials of the first Indian Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Philippines, Mirza Rahid Baig, the President said "the countries of Asia demand today, more than ever before, the closest understanding and utmost cooperation among themselves, in order to ensure the preservation of their hard-won freedom."
07 July 1952	The Treaty of Friendship between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of India was signed by Foreign Secretary Joaquin Miguel Elizalde for the Philippines and Foreign Affairs Secretary M.R.A. Baig for India in Manila.
1952	H.E. Narciso G. Ramos assumed office as the Philippines' first Ambassador the Republic of India and served in this capacity until 1956
1956	H.E. Melquiades Gamboa took over H.E. Narciso G. Ramos as Ambassador. He served in India until 1958.
1958	H.E. Manuel A. Alzate became the third Ambassador to serve in India. His tour of duty ended in 1961.
1962	H.E. Mauro Calingo succeeded Ambassador Alzate in 1962 and served until 1966.
1963	Manila lifted its one-year-old ban on the entry of quota of Indian immigrants into the Philippines. The Deccan Chronicle newspaper in its 28 February 1963 issue reported: "New Delhi: The Philippine Government has lifted its one-year-old ban on the entry quota of Indian immigrants into the country with immediate effect, as a measure of goodwill to India. This was announced here by the Ambassador to India, Dr. Mauro Calingo, at a luncheon given in his honour by the Congress Party in Parliament."
1966	H.E. Leon Ma. Guerrero started his term as Ambassador and was the first Philippine diplomat to served a full six-year term in India, ending his tour of duty in 1972.
06 September 1969	For the Government of India, Honorable Dinesh Singh, Minister for External Affairs and for the Government of the Philippines, Honorable Carlos P. Romulo, Secretary (Minister) of Foreign Affairs, signed the Cultural Agreement which was ratified on 23 March 1973.
1972	H.E. Romeo Busuego assumed office as the Philippines's sixth Ambassador to India and became the longest serving Filipino Ambassador in the country ending his term of duty in 1979.
	For the Government of India, Honorable Dinesh Singh, Minister for External Affairs and for the Government of the Philippines, Honorable Carlos P. Romulo, Secretary (Minister) of Foreign Affairs, signed the Cultural Agreement which was ratified on 23 March 1973.
	The Indo-Philippine Textile Mills, Inc. (Indo-Phil) was established, representing the largest Indian investment in the Philippines. The company continues to operate in the Philippines to this day.
29 May 1979	Philippines and India signed a Trade Agreement which aimed to promote the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries within the framework of their laws, rules and regulations. The agreement was ratified on 17 July 1981.
1983	H.E. Romeo Bejasa became the 7^thPhilippine Ambassador to India and served until 1986.
1986	H.E. Rosalinda V. Tirona assumed office as Ambassador to India. Her term ended in 1988.
1988	H.E. Pablo A. Araque assumed office as Ambassador to India. His term ended in 1993.
12 February 1990	Philippines and India signed a Convention for the Avoidable of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income.
03 August 1990	Philippines and India signed an Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation. It was ratified on 01 August 1991. The aim of the agreement is the promotion of industrial cooperation, capital investments; cooperation in the field of transport, communications, construction and energy; and provision of technical and scientific cooperation and training, among others.
29 April 1991	Philippines and India signed a Memorandum on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture, Science and Technology aimed at promoting the development of agricultural, scientific and technological cooperation through joint activities and exchanges for a period of ten years.
29 April 1991	Philippines and India signed an Agreement for Cooperation for the Utilization of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes. It was ratified on 25 November 1992.
1994	H.E. Juanito Jarasa, assumed office as Ambassador to India and served until 1996.
21 March 1995	Philippines and India signed the Philippines and India signed Executive Program of Cultural Exchanges for the period 1995 - 1997. The program was based on the Cultural Agreement of 06 September 1969.
02 – 05 March 1997	H.E. President Fidel V. Ramos made a state visit to India.
03 March 1997	The Department of Trade and Industry of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Small Industries Corporation Limited of the Republic of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
1997	H.E. Jose P. Del Rosario, Jr., assumed as Ambassador to India. He served as Ambassador until 2003.
2003	H.E. Laura Q. del Rosario, assumed office as Ambassador to India until 2007. During her term in India, Ambassador Laura Q. del Rosario focused on promoting investments in Philippine education and IT sectors.
2004	The Philippines and India concluded an Extradition Treaty.
2005	The Philippines and India signed an MOU amending the Air Services Agreement that was concluded in 1949. The MOU was ratified by the Philippines on 09 December 2005.
2006	Visit of former President Fidel V. Ramos with his 20-member delegation composed of government officials, businessmen and civic leaders. The former President was the Guest of Honor in the Annual Convention of the Confederation of Indian Industry.
04 February 2006	The Philippines and India signed an Agreement on Defense Cooperation, aimed at promoting exchange of experience and knowledge between the two countries.
	The Philippines and India signed an Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism.
	The Philippines and India signed an MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture and Related Fields
03 – 06 February 2006	State Visit of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to the Philippines
January 2007	Visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. PM Manmohan Singh participated and attended the 5^th ASEAN-India Summit and 2^nd East Asia Summit in Cebu City, Philippines
03 – 06 October 2007	State Visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to India. The state visit resulted in the signing of the following agreements on 06 February 2006: Declaration on the Framework of Bilateral Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of India; RP-India Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism; Agreement on the Establishment of a Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation; Memorandum of Agreement on the Exemption of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic and Official Passport; Memorandum of Understanding on the Cooperation between the Foreign Service Institute of the Philippines and the Foreign Service Institute of India; Memorandum of Agreement on Enhanced Cooperation in the Field of Renewable Energy; Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Health and Medicine; Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Utilization of a USD15 Million Credit Line between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Export-Import Bank of India; and Memorandum of Agreement between the Philippine International Trading Corporation and the State Trading Corporation of India Limited for Trade between the Philippines and India
2007	H.E. Teresita V. Berner was appointed Ambassador to India and served for less than a year.
2008	H.E. Francisco L. Benedicto became the first non-career diplomat to be appointed Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to India until 2010.
April 2010	H.E. Ronald B. Allarey was appointed Ambassador to India. He served until April 2012
14 – 15 March 2011	Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario and Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Smt. Preneer Kaur led the inaugural meeting of 1^st Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation Meeting (JCBC) held in New Delhi.
30 September 2012	H.E. Benito B. Valeriano assumed as Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to India. He served until 01 October 2014. Ambassador Valeriano during his term in India focused on strategic engagements in defense cooperation and political relations.
18 – 19 December 2012	Vice President Jejomar C. Binay participated in the ASEN-India Commemorative Summit and bilateral meetings held in New Delhi.
08 February 2013	Undersecretary (Vice Minister) Erlinda F. Basilio and Secretary (East) Mr. Sanjay Singh led the 10^th PH-India Policy Consultations and 4^th Security Dialogues held in New Delhi.
21 October 2013	Secretary (Minister) Albert F. Del Rosario and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid led the delegations to the 2^nd Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) Meeting held in Manila.
March 2014	Honorable Laura Q. Del Rosario, Undersecretary (Vice Minister) for International and Economic Relations, Department (Ministry) of Foreign Affairs led the Philippine Delegation to the Delhi Dialogue VI in New Delhi, India.\
24 December 2014	65^th Year of the establishment of bilateral relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of India celebrated with a Diplomatic Reception at the Embassy Grounds. Minister of State Shri V.K. Singh was the Chief Guest during the event.
29 January 2015	Honorable Secretary (Minister) Ramon R. Jimenez, Department (Ministry) of Tourism and Honorable Undersecretary (Vice Minister) C. Bengzon led the Philippine delegation to the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) and Guest of Honor in the opening of the Philippine Booth at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. He also met Indian Minister for Culture and Tourism, Honorable Dr. Mahesh Sharma. The launching of Asian Visit the Philippines Year 2015 was held at the Philippine Embassy.
04 - 07 February 2015	Former Senator Heherson T. Alvarez, Commissioner for the Philippine Climate Change Commission of the Philippines led the Philippine Delegation as Guest Speaker in Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) 2015 .
2 - 3 March 2016	Honorable Teodulo R. Romo led the Philippine Delegation to the Session of the Working Group on Asia and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities in New Delhi.
05 March 2015	Undersecretary (Vice Minister) Evan P. Garcia and Secretary (East) Anil Wadhwa led delegations to the 11^th PH-India Policy Consultations and 2^nd Strategic Dialogue held in Manila. The 2^nd PH-India Joint Consular Consultation Meeting (JCCM) was also convened on same date.
14 March 2015	Honorable Undersecretary (Vice Minister) Evan P. Garcia led the Philippine delegation to the 17^th ASEAN-India Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) held in New Delhi.
07 - 12 April 2015	Philippine Congressional Delegation Study to India on India’s National Employment Guarantee Act of 2005 led by Honorable Congressman MANUEL S. AGYAO, Lone District, Kalinga, Apayao, Chairman of the House Committee on Rural Development; Honorable Congresswoman ELISA T. KHO, Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Rural Development; and Honorable Congressman GEORGE P. ARNAIZ, 2^nd District, Negros Occidental visited the Indian Lok Sabha and Rajah Sabha, Meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture and went for a Meeting with Barefoot College Officials in Rajashthan including site tour.
18 - 19 June 2015	Dr. Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr. Administrator of the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority, made a visit to India for his campaign as Philippines' candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the Internaional Maritime Organization (IMO). Dr. Mejia met with his counterparts at the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Shipping and Transport.
15 July 2015	H.E. Mrs. Ma. Teresita C. Daza assumed Post as the 17^th Philippine Ambassador to India (and 4^th Philippine Lady Ambassador). She presented her credentials to Indian President Pranab Mukherjee at a formal ceremony at the President’s House (Rashtrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi on 28 August 2015.
15 – 17 July 2015	Undersecretary (Vice Minister) Evan P. Garcia was the Philippine Eminent Person to the ASEAN-India Eminent Persons’ Lecture Series conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs held in New Delhi.
06 – 07 August 2015	Honorable Antonio T. Carpio, Senior Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines delivered a lecture on West Philippine Sea (WPS) at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.
14 October 2015	Philippine Foreign Secretary (Minister) Honorable Albert F. Del Rosario and Indian Minister of External Affairs Honorable Sushma Swaraj led the delegations during the 3^rd Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) held in New Delhi. The meeting resulted in the signing of the following documents: Executive Programme of Cultural Exchanges Between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines for the Years 2016-2018 Exchange of Instruments of Ratification of the India-Philippines Extradition Treaty
04 - 08 February 2016	Rear Admiral Joseph S. Mercado AFP, Flag officer in Command, Philippine Navy and Captain Carlo V. Lagasca PN (GSC), Director of the Office of Naval and Strategic with Capt. Sean Anthony U. Villa, Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to India led the Philippine delegation in the International Fleet Review (IFR) held on in Visakhapatnam, India.
10 - 11 February 2016	Dr. Paulyn-Jean B. Rosell-Ubial, Assistant Secretary (Joint Secretary) for Health Regulation led the 7-member Philippine delegation to the 2^nd Philippines-India Joint Working Group on Health and Medicine held in New Delhi.
15 - 17 February 2016	Former Ambassador to India, H.E. Laura Q. Del Rosario, Undersecretary (Vice Minister) of the Department (Ministry) of Foreign Affairs visited India for the Philippine Education and Tourism Roadshow on 15-16 February 2016 in Pune and attended the MAKE IN INDIA (MII) event in Mumbai on 17 February 2016.
17 - 19 February 2016	The Philippines was represented by Ambassador Ma. Teresita C. Daza in the Delhi Dialogue VIII. She was joined by Dr. Joefe Santa Rita, Dean, Asian Center, GT Toyota Asian Cultural Center, University of the Philippines and Dr. Rene De Castro, Professor, International Studies Department, College of Liberal Arts, De La Salle University-Manila, as Speakers in the Academic Sessions.
22 - 25 March 2016	Dr. Raul M. Sunico, renowned Philippine pianist and President of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) perfored in New Delhi and Kolkata. Dr. Sunico met with ICCR President Professor Lokesh Chandra and interacted with Delhi School of Music officials and students.
31 March 2016	Philippines and India held the 12^th Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade and Investments (JWGTI) in New Delhi, India. Philippine Board of Investments Governor Lucita P. Reyes led the Philippine delegation along with Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) President Ma. Lourdes Baua, and representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of International Trade Relations, the Department of Science and Technology’s National ICT Governance Service, Information Communications Technology Office, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Department of Trade and Industry. Ambassador Ma. Teresita C. Daza and Commercial Counsellor Michael Alfred V. Ignacio joined the delegation composed of 15-member representing different agencies from the Philippines. Joint Secretary Ravi Kapoor of the Department of Commerce of India led a twenty member delegation of officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and other Ministries.
29 April 2016	The 1^st First Meeting of the India-Philippines Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism (JWGCT) was held at the Ministry of External Affairs, Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan (MEA-JNB) in New Delhi. Atty. Roy B. Ecraela, Special Assistant, Office of the Undersecretary (Vice Minister) for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns, Department of Foreign Affairs and H.E. Ma. Teresita C. Daza, Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Republic of India, led the Philippine delegation in the Meeting.
25 September - 01 October 2016	Colonel Cheston D. Valencerina COP (GSC) led the 34 member Military officials for the Philippine Command General Staff Course Class 61 (AFPCGSC CI-61) held in India.
4 - 8 October 2016	Major General Arnold M. Quiapo AFP and Major Ferdinand Bruce M. Tokong PA attended the 20th ARF Heads of Defence Universities/Colleges/Institutions Meeting (HDUCIM) held in New Delhi.
4 - 8 October 2016	Retired General Rolando G. Jungco, Director of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) and Colonel Stephen V. Agtoto attended the 20th ARF Heads of Defence Universities/Colleges/Institutions Meeting (HDUCIM) held in New Delhi.
1 - 5 November 2016	Philippine DND Undersecretary (Deputy Minister) Eduardo Del Rosario as Head Of Delegation, DND Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad (Deputy Minister) and DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero CESO I (Deputy Minister) led the Philippine delegation to the Asia Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016 held at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
7 - 12 November 2016	Chairperson Alicia Dela Rosa-Bala, Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Undersecretary (Vice Minister) Manuel A.J. Teehankee, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), led the inter-agency Philippine delegation attending the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 7) of the WHO-Framework Convention on Tobacco Control held at the India Exposition Mart in Greater Noida, where the activity took place.
14 - 16 December 2016	Honorable Terry L. Ridon, former Congressman of the Republic of the Philippines and presently the Chairman of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, led the Philippine delegation to the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (APMCHUD) held at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.