New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday after concluding a three-day trip to Singapore and Brunei. During his talks with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, he touted Singapore as a model for developing nations and said India wanted to create “several Singapores” of its own.
India and Singapore strengthen ties
During his visit, India and Singapore elevated their ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” and signed four MoUs, including one on cooperation in the semiconductor industry, as companies in the wealthy city-state pledged to invest around $60 billion over the next few years. “Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @LawrenceWongST held productive talks today. They deliberated on ways to further deepen the India-Singapore partnership in key sectors such as technology, healthcare, trade, training and more,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X.
PM Modi calls on Singapore’s top CEOs to invest in India
Later, Modi held a roundtable with top business leaders and CEOs in Singapore, where he discussed ways to deepen economic ties. Highlighting the reforms underway in India, which will encourage investment and innovation, Modi invited Singapore business leaders to discuss investment opportunities in India in sectors such as aviation, energy and skill development.
At the roundtable with business leaders, Singapore companies pledged to invest about $60 billion (over Rs 500,000 crore) over the next few years, officials said. “Collaborative initiatives have been identified in areas such as skills training, digitalisation, mobility, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and artificial intelligence, healthcare, sustainability and cybersecurity,” Modi said during his meeting with Wong.
Describing Singapore as an “important enabler” of India’s Act East policy, Modi said, “Our strategic partnership is completing a decade. In the last 10 years, our trade has more than doubled. Mutual investment has increased almost threefold to over $150 billion. Singapore was the first country with whom we launched the UPI person-to-person payment service.” Noting that 17 Singapore satellites have been launched from Indian soil in the last ten years, Modi said bilateral cooperation has gained momentum, from training to the defence sector. “I am glad that today we are together elevating our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” he said.
India, Singapore sign four agreements during PM Modi’s visit
The two leaders witnessed the exchange of MoUs for cooperation in semiconductors, digital technologies, skill development and healthcare. These are the outcomes of the deliberations during the two rounds of India-Singapore ministerial roundtables held so far. Prime Minister Modi also announced the setting up of an Invest India office in Singapore, which will be a support office for investors in Singapore in various areas identified under the six pillars.
In their talks, both leaders reviewed existing cooperation in the fields of defence and security, maritime domain awareness, education, artificial intelligence, fintech, new technological domains, science and technology and knowledge partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The leaders also exchanged views on important regional and global issues of mutual interest, including India-ASEAN relations and India’s vision for the Indo-Pacific.
Strong message from India and Singapore to China
In a joint statement, the two countries pledged to work together to promote peace and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region, which would help advance free trade and open markets. The two leaders “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and security, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea,” the joint statement said, in a veiled reference to China, which claims most of the South China Sea, while the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.
Modi also said that India’s first Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre would soon be inaugurated in Singapore. “The great saint Thiruvalluvar conveyed guiding thoughts to the world in the most ancient language, Tamil.
“His work, the Thirukkural, was composed nearly 2,000 years ago, but its ideas remain relevant today,” he added. The two leaders discussed the outcome of the 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable held in Singapore in August 2024. Their discussion also covered the celebration of the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2025.
PM Modi invited Wong to visit India
The Prime Minister invited Wong to visit India, which he accepted. Modi thanked Wong for the warm welcome. “This is our first meeting after you assumed office as Prime Minister. Many congratulations to you from me. I am confident that under the leadership of 4G (the fourth generation leaders), Singapore will progress even faster,” Modi said. “Talks with my friend Prime Minister Lawrence Wong continued today. Our talks focused on boosting cooperation in areas such as training, technology, healthcare, artificial intelligence and more. We both agreed on the need to boost trade relations,” Modi later said in a post on X.
Wong said Singapore and India share a deep and long-standing friendship, based on strong economic and people-to-people ties. “I had a productive meeting with Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi in Parliament. We have set a forward-looking agenda for the next phase of our bilateral relations,” he posted on X.
What did Wong say about India?
“This includes closer cooperation in areas such as sustainability, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies and connectivity. We are also upgrading the Singapore-India Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” he said. “This is timely as we expand our partnership into new mutually beneficial areas. We also celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership next year,” Wong said.
Singapore looks forward to strengthening bilateral ties and creating new opportunities for the people of the two nations, he said. Ahead of the talks with Wong, Modi was given a ceremonial welcome at Parliament. The meeting between the two leaders comes months after Wong assumed office as prime minister and Modi began his third term as prime minister.
Modi and Wong also visited a major Singaporean semiconductor and electronics company and discussed ways of collaboration in this vital industry. This is his fifth visit as prime minister; all previous visits were made during his first term.
(With contributions from the agency)
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