THE Philippines and Canada hope to forge a defense agreement this year as a Canadian delegation will fly to Manila next week to discuss the deal, Canadian Ambassador to Manila David Hartman said.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., in a chance interview on Tuesday, did not elaborate on the details of the proposed accord but said he looks forward to having a deal signed 'soon.' Teodoro said the agreement aims to have 'increased defense cooperation between countries, like the MoU or memorandum of understanding we have with others.'