MoS Singh attends new Philippine president's inauguration

Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh attended the swearing-in ceremony of Ferdinand R Marcos Jr as the president of the Philippines in Manila on Thursday.

Singh attended the inauguration as the special envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Marcos Jr succeeds outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte as the president of the Philippines.

The Philippines is a key strategic partner of India in the Southeast Asian region and the ties between the two sides have been on an upswing in the last few years.

In January, India sealed a USD 375-million deal with the Philippines for supplying three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile. The MEA said the Minister of State (MoS) also handed over a letter of felicitation from President Ram Nath Kovind during a courtesy call on President Marcos Jr on Friday.

In his letter, Kovind congratulated Marcos Jr on assuming office as the President of the Philippines and expressed his confidence that under his able leadership, the bilateral partnership would expand and strengthen further, it said.

''During the courtesy call, the MoS noted the recent dynamism in bilateral ties and reiterated India's commitment to work with the new government of Republic of the Philippines in further deepening the bilateral partnership encompassing our respective developmental aspirations and national security objectives,'' the MEA said in a statement.

It said Singh also interacted with representatives of the vibrant Indian community in the Philippines during the visit.