MoS Rajkumar Ranjan Singh attended the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected president Ferdinand Marcos Jr

India has reaffirmed its commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties with the Philippines, including in the area of security.

This was conveyed by Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh when he called on the country's newly elected President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr on Friday.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), during the courtesy call, MoS Singh "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".

He also handed over a letter of felicitation from President Ram Nath Kovind when he called on President Marcos.

In his letter, President Kovind congratulated President Marcos on assuming office as the President of the Philippines and expressed his confidence that under President Marcos’s able leadership, the India-Philippines partnership would expand and strengthen further, the MEA said.

MoS Singh had attended the coronation ceremony of the 17th president of the Republic of the Philippines in Manila on Thursday as the Special Envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the visit, the MoS External Affairs also interacted with representatives of the vibrant Indian community in the Philippines.

"Happy to connect Indian diaspora in Manila. Feeling wonderful after meeting with our brothers and sisters in Manila and I feel proud of the accomplishments of the Indian diaspora. @indembmanila", he tweeted.