India, March 18 -- India should source nickel for making batteries from the Philippines at a time when the Southeast Asian country is diversifying from 98% dependence on Chinese buyers, Filipino foreign minister Enrique Manalo has said.

The Philippines and India should also accelerate negotiations for a preferential trade agreement (PTA) as Manila is keen to deepen engagement with Indian businesses in areas such as automobiles, batteries, value-added IT and ITES services, pharmaceuticals, health and agriculture, Manalo said in an interaction with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Monday.

India has backed efforts to ramp up the production of batteries as part of its drive to push electric vehicles (EVs...