New Delhi, Sep 11 : Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane on Wednesday invited the Philippines to partner with the Indian defence industry in co-development and co-production of equipment.

He was in Manila for the fifth meeting of the India-Philippines Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) which was held earlier in the day.

The Philippines also invited investments in long-term equity partnerships towards promoting assured supply chains.

The meeting was co-chaired by Aramane and his counterpart Irineo Cruz Espino, Senior Undersecretary from the Philippines' Ministry of National Defence.

Defence Secretary Aramane praised the Self Reliance Defence Posture Act of the Philippines government for modernising its Armed Forces.

He highlighted that India has also laid out a similar vision for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. Under this initiative the Indian defence Industry is continuously enhancing its manufacturing capabilities and is exporting equipment to the world, the Defence Secretary added.

Both the countries exchanged wide-ranging discussions on bilateral as well as multilateral issues.

The co-chairs reviewed the outcomes of the third Service-to-Service interaction held on Tuesday and expressed happiness at the overall enhancement in bilateral defence cooperation across all sectors.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that both countries affirmed the commitment to support each other to achieve the goal of self-reliance in defence production.

They appreciated the operationalisation of the White Shipping Information Exchange and the opening of a defence wing at the Embassy of India, Manila, soon.

While welcoming the Philippines as a coordinating country for India in the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus, Defence Secretary Aramane discussed ways and means to strengthen cooperation in multilateral forums.

India and the Philippines have a vigorous and multifaceted relationship which has expanded into several strategic areas, including defence and security.

During his visit to Manila, the Defence Secretary also called on the Philippines' Secretary of National Defence (Defence Minister of Philippines) Gilbert Eduardo Gerardo Cojuangco Teodoro Jr. and conveyed the greetings of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Earlier, he was received with a full Guard of Honour at the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The MoD said that the JDCC construct has been established under the ambit of the Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation between India and the Philippines signed in 2006.

In the 75th year of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the 'Act East Policy', the co-chairmanship of JDCC is upgraded to Secretary-level.

/IANS