Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by Singapore Prime Minister Mr Lawrence Wong, visited AEM, a leading Singaporean company in the semiconductor and electronics sector, on Thursday.

The Prime Minister also interacted with a group of leading Singaporean CEOs from diverse sectors, including investment funds, infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, sustainability, and logistics.

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Deputy Prime Minister Mr Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Home Affairs and Law Mr K Shanmugam of Singapore participated in the event.

At AEM, the leaders were briefed about the company’s role in the global semiconductor value chain, its operations, and its plans for India. The Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association gave a briefing on the development of the semiconductor ecosystem in Singapore and opportunities for collaboration with India.

Representatives of several other Singaporean companies from this sector were also present. The Prime Minister invited the Singaporean semiconductor companies to participate in the SEMICON INDIA exhibition to be held in Greater Noida on 11-13 September.

Given efforts to develop the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India and Singapore’s strengths in this sector, both sides have decided to expand bilateral cooperation.

During the 2nd meeting of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, both sides agreed to add Advance Manufacturing, with a focus on semiconductors, as a pillar for enhancing bilateral cooperation. Both sides have also concluded the MoU on India-Singapore Semiconductor Ecosystem Partnership.

At the facility, the two Prime Ministers also interacted with Indian interns from Odisha’s World Skill Centre undergoing training in Singapore as well as Singaporean interns who had visited India under the CII-Enterprise Singapore India Ready Talent Programme and Indian engineers working at AEM.

Appreciating the CEOs’ investment footprint in India, the Prime Minister acknowledged the role played by the Singaporean industry leaders in strengthening bilateral relations and promoting economic cooperation between India and Singapore.

To further facilitate their collaboration with India, the Prime Minister announced the setting up of an INVEST INDIA office in Singapore. He said the elevation of India-Singapore ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership would give a major thrust to bilateral economic relations.

Mr Modi noted that India had made transformative progress in the last ten years and would continue on the same path, given its strengths of political stability, policy predictability, Ease of Doing Business, and its reform-oriented economic agenda.

India is set to become the third-largest economy in the world over the next few years, he said. Talking of India’s impressive growth story, its skilled talent pool, and expansive market opportunities, he highlighted that India is contributing 17 per cent to global economic growth.

The Prime Minister spoke about various initiatives to enhance India’s participation in global value chains through programmes such as the Production Linked Incentive scheme, the India Semiconductor Mission, and the establishment of 12 new Industrial Smart Cities.

He called upon business leaders to look at opportunities in India in the field of skill development. For businesses looking for resilient supply chains, the Prime Minister noted that India is the best alternative given its strengths.

The PM assured that India would increase the pace and scale of infrastructure development in his third term and apprised the CEOs of new opportunities in the fields of Railways, Roads, Ports, Civil Aviation, Industrial Parks, and Digital Connectivity.

The Prime Minister invited Singaporean business leaders to look at investment opportunities in India and to increase their presence in the country.