India pitches Philippines IT-BPM ties, seeks services in trade pact
- India’s ambassador called the Philippines an IT-BPM partner, not a rival.
- A planned India-Philippines trade pact would first cover goods.
- India wants to broaden the pact to services later.
- India-Philippines bilateral trade stands at about $3.9 billion.
MAKATI, PHILIPPINES — India sees the Philippines as a partner rather than a competitor in information technology and business process management (IT-BPM), and wants a planned bilateral trade pact to eventually cover services as well as goods.
The two countries are established players in global outsourcing, with India generally recognized as the world’s largest IT-BPM market and the Philippines as another major services hub.
Envoy points to existing collaboration
“In fact, there are many areas where we are collaborating with each other,” Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shri Harsh Kumar Jain told reporters at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India business forum in Makati, BusinessMirror reported.
“Of course, IT-BPM industry is one which is a very successful example of collaboration between the two countries,” he added.
In June, the two countries identified information and communication technologies, IT-BPM and artificial intelligence (AI) as areas for deeper cooperation under their Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment.
They elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership in August 2025 during President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s state visit to India, signing a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in digital technologies.
Trade pact would start with goods
Manila and New Delhi are preparing to explore a bilateral preferential trade agreement (PTA) that would initially cover trade in goods.
“It’s a matter of discussion and negotiation. But to begin with, I think it’s a preferential trade agreement in goods, but we would want to also broaden it,” Jain said.
Formal negotiations are expected to begin after the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement is completed, and Trade Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty has said the Philippines hopes to start PTA talks with India in 2027.
Bilateral trade between the two countries stands at about $3.9 billion, compared with around $128 billion in India-ASEAN trade, Jain said.
For buyers running business process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) work from both countries, closer ties point to more cross-border delivery models rather than a head-to-head contest.
Companies weighing a Philippine delivery center against India can compare providers among the top 40 BPO companies in the Philippines as services trade talks take shape.
Related news
- AI reshapes, not shrinks, India outsourcing: ING · 24 Sep
- Tax perks not enough to save Philippines BPO: WTO · 21 Sep
- Indian firms pledge Philippine expansion, including BPO · 19 Sep
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
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