31 March 2023. The Philippine Delegation to the 4th Philippines-India Joint Defense Cooperation Committee (JDCC) Meeting and the 2nd Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Indian Armed Forces (IAF) Service-to-Service Talks paid a courtesy visit to the Philippine Embassy. The Delegation was headed by the Department of National Defense (DND)’s Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessments and International Affairs, Pablo M. Lorenzo, with officials from the DND and AFP.
The 4th PH-India JDCC Meeting hosted by the Indian side was held on 31 March 2023 at the Manekshaw Center in New Delhi. DND’s Assistant Secretary, Lorenzo, led the Philippine Delegation, while India’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) Joint Secretary, Shri Amitabh Prasad, headed the Indian Delegation. The 2nd AFP-IAF Service-to-Service Talks was held on 29 March 2023.
The 4th PH-India JDCC and the 2nd AFP-IAF Service-to-Service Meetings provided an opportunity for both the Philippines and India to review their ongoing defense cooperation and identify other areas of possible collaboration and engagements, including a roadmap for the defense and military engagements between the two countries. Both sides agreed to continue to deepen cooperation on key areas of mutual interests and hold regular consultations through bilateral, regional, and multilateral mechanisms.
The Joint Defense Cooperation Committee (JDCC) at the Assistant Secretary level (Joint Secretary level) was set up under the ambit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defense Cooperation, signed by the Philippines and India in 2006. The previous JDCC and Service-to-Service Talks hosted by the Philippines were held in Manila on 31 January 2020.
