Manila, April 9: On Thursday, Periasamy Kumaran, the Secretary of the Eastern Division of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, met with Maria Theresa P. Lazaro, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, in Manila. The discussion focused on the strategic partnership between the two nations and India’s support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Lazaro expressed her satisfaction on the social media platform ‘X’, stating, “It was a pleasure to meet with Periasamy Kumaran, Secretary of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (East), during the 28th ASEAN-India Senior Officials’ Meeting in Manila. We had a brief but productive conversation on the Philippines-India strategic partnership and India’s active support for ASEAN.”
India and the Philippines established formal diplomatic relations in November 1949, coinciding with their independence. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the relationship is friendly and based on shared values such as democracy, a pluralistic society, the rule of law, an independent judiciary, a free press, and the widespread use of the English language.
Meanwhile, the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) in Manila continued discussions on the Philippines’ chairmanship priorities and deliverables aimed at advancing ASEAN community-building. This included strategies to strengthen ASEAN’s external relations and preparations for the 48th ASEAN Summit scheduled for May 2026. Leaders or representatives from ASEAN member states and the Deputy Secretary-General of the ASEAN Political-Security Community participated in the meeting.
According to an official statement, ASEAN was founded in 1967 in Thailand when the founding fathers—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—signed the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration). Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN in January 1984, followed by Vietnam in July 1995, Laos and Myanmar in July 1997, Cambodia in April 1999, and Timor-Leste in October 2025, bringing the total number of ASEAN member countries to 11.
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