Sonipat, HARYANA – The intensification of Philippines-India relations serves both national objectives and the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.
This was a central message of Philippine Ambassador Josel F. Ignacio, as delivered the academic year’s commencement speech before the new student cohorts of international affairs at the prestigious O.P. Jindal Global University, on 1 August.
A university tradition, each of O.P. Jindal’s component school begin academic year exposing their respective freshmen cohorts to an address by a luminary speaker from their respective schools’ fields of focus.
Ambassador Ignacio was O.P. Jindal’s featured speaker for its Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA). The University hosted a total of 13 separate Commencement Lectures at its various colleges and units over 1-2 August, to launch academic year 2024-2025.
Ambassador Ignacio spoke on the topic “India and the Philippines in the Indo-Pacific".
The packed auditorium of about 200 new undergraduate, masters and Ph.D. students listened intently as Ambassador Ignacio outlined the rapid progression and intensification of Philippines-India ties, particularly landmark developments in trade, defense and cooperation on regional affairs.
The Ambassador made a case for the growing parallel relevance of resurgent Philippines-India ties on the future prosperity, stability and preservation of a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.
He highlighted the congruent values and principles espoused by the two nations as sworn democracies, their shared interest as among the region’s fastest-growing economies. and their nascent common cause in addressing security challenges now weighing on the regional and global landscape.
Anchoring his presentation on the “seven realities” impinging on the Indo-Pacific articulated by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, Ambassador Ignacio provided a compelling case illustrating how Philippines-India cooperation initiatives have risen to meet these same realities.
“It is a partnership that will weigh in and bear on regional developments – whether by fostering rule of law and shaping norms, or contributing to the larger drive towards reliable and resilient supply chains and trusted digital infrastructure, or mitigating climate change”, emphasized the Ambassador. 
Prior to Commencement Lecture, the Ambassador was warmly received by JSIA faculty led by Dean Sreeram S. Chaulia, and thereafter by University Vice-Chancellor Professor C. Raj Kumar.
The Ambassador was accompanied by Embassy Political Officer Mark Anthony P. Dizon, Economic Officer Melissa Anne M. Telan, Administrative Officer Mark Anthony G. Articulo, Attaché Roger B. Silva Jr., and Attaché Rina Isabel P. De Chavez END
