Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Singapore soon, following a high-level meeting between senior ministers from India and Singapore. Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced that the meeting, which was part of the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), laid the groundwork for Modi's official visit.
As per reports, during the roundtable, ministers from both nations discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties in key areas such as digitalisation, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity, and advanced manufacturing. Notably, the discussions also highlighted new opportunities for collaboration in advanced manufacturing and semiconductors—areas that both countries see as highly beneficial.
Reportedly, Balakrishnan emphasised that India’s rapidly growing aviation sector, which has seen orders for over 1,000 planes in the past year, presents significant opportunities for Singapore in areas like maintenance and air operations. He also noted the potential for collaboration in semiconductors, a sector India is keen to expand, and where Singapore has established global expertise.
The ISMR, first held in New Delhi in September 2022, has now expanded its focus to include these new areas of cooperation, reflecting the evolving strategic partnership between the two nations. Singapore's delegation at the meeting included Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and several other key ministers, while India's delegation was led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and included External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Both sides reaffirmed their strong economic and people-to-people ties, with PM Lawrence Wong expressing satisfaction with the progress made since the inaugural ISMR. He noted that recent initiatives, such as the linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), have set the stage for further strategic cooperation.
The ministers also discussed cyber security and the potential for creating a regional instant payments system to facilitate trade across Asia. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, speaking at a dinner following the meeting, highlighted the natural partnership between Singapore and India, driven by complementary strengths and strong economic ties. He expressed confidence that the ongoing discussions would lead to even greater collaboration between the two nations.
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