Philippines Science Minister Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr. today called on Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in New Delhi. The meeting marked a renewed momentum in India-Philippines science and technology cooperation, anchored by the recently signed Programme of Cooperation (PoC) for the period 2025-2028. Under the PoC, the two countries have agreed to facilitate joint research and development, exchange of scientists, capacity building programmes, and the sharing of non-proprietary scientific data.
During the meeting, Dr Singh said that there is immense scope for collaboration in agricultural biotechnology, geospatial technology, and disaster risk mitigation and these areas can be immediate starting points for joint research. He highlighted India’s National Geospatial Policy 2022, which envisions an ecosystem enabling widespread use of geospatial data across governance, academia, and business. He said that India aims to establish a high-resolution topographical survey and a highly accurate digital elevation model of the country by 2030.
The meeting also emphasized the importance of regular India-Philippines Joint Committee meetings to steer the implementation of projects under the PoC. The joint mechanism is expected to guide bilateral collaboration across eight thematic areas identified in the agreement ranging from agricultural biotechnology and AI to energy storage and ocean sciences.
