Embassy keen to facilitate PH, India news agency tie-up

MANILA -- The Indian Embassy in Manila is interested to facilitate a partnership between Philippine and Indian news agencies to broaden the two nations' knowledge about each other.

This was revealed by India Ambassador to the Philippines Jaideep Mazumdar on Sunday, as he recognized the information gap between New Delhi and Manila.

"I think we in India, as well as in the Philippines, there is a bit of a gap in terms of knowledge of each other, and I think that can be bridged between (news) agencies," he said in an interview.

"We have agencies like ANI (Asian News International) and PTI (Press Trust of India) who can tie up, for example with the Philippine News Agency, and (conduct) exchange programs," he noted, adding this is the "best way to know each country."

ANI is a multimedia news agency in South Asia with over 100 bureaus in India and across the globe, while PTI is the largest news agency in India and commands 90 percent of news agency market share in the country.

The envoy added that the bilateral relations between the Philippines and India have grown rapidly since President Rodrigo Duterte visited New Delhi in January this year.

"There are many areas that we are working on in the field of defense, in the field of pharmaceuticals, in the field of trade, and all are progressing," Mazumdar said.

On content sharing, the ambassador said the embassy is keen to pursue talks with the Philippine side within the year.

Mazumdar was at the Khalsa Diwan in Paco, Manila to lead the bloodletting initiative of the embassy in commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of an Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy behind peaceful resistance.

The donation from Indian volunteers will be delivered to the Philippine blood bank in partnership with the Department of Health.

"Mahatma Gandhi was very much a person of the community, a people person. This initiative is part of that to donate blood for blood banks in the Philippines," the envoy told the PNA.

"Mahatma Gandhi said the only way to find yourself is to lose oneself in the service of others. This, we hope, is the way to serve others and a way to serve the community, through the donation of blood," he added.

Throughout the year, Mazumdar said the embassy will organize different programs in line with the advocacies of Gandhi.

"We will have some events to do with the environment, to sanitation, to health, to women empowerment, those that are close to Mahatma Gandhi's heart," he said.

Gandi's birth anniversary last Oct. 2 was celebrated by the embassy in Taguig City with a short video presentation featuring his life and teachings.

The Embassy, through First Secretary M.S. Patiyal Mahendra Singh, also released the commemorative post stamps of Gandhi in the Philippines. (PNA)