Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singapore counterpart Lawrence Wong on Thursday reviewed India-Singapore bilateral relations and decided to elevate relationship between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
On the second day of his visit, the prime minister held talks with the Singapore prime minister and took stock of the robust progress in economic ties with Singapore. The two leaders called for further expanding trade and investment flows between the two countries.
Their decision to elevate the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership is expected to give a major boost to India’s Act East Policy, given the breadth and depth of bilateral ties and immense potential.
Concluding his visit to Singapore, the prime minister said, “My visit to Singapore has been a very fruitful one. It will certainly add vigour to bilateral ties and benefit the people of our nations. I thank the government and people of Singapore for their warmth.”
Mr Modi and Mr Wong witnessed exchange of MoUs for cooperation in Semiconductors, Digital Technologies, Skill Development and Healthcare. Mr Modi invited Prime Minister Wong to visit India which he accepted.
At his meeting with Mr Wong, Mr Modi said Singapore is not merely a partner country; it serves as an inspiration for every developing nation. “We also aim to create multiple ‘Singapore’ within India. I am pleased that we are collaborating towards this goal. The ministerial roundtable we have established is a path-breaking mechanism.”
The prime minister said collaborative initiatives have been identified in areas such as skilling, digitalisation, mobility, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and AI, healthcare, sustainability and cybersecurity.
Singapore is also an important facilitator of our Act East policy, Mr Modi said. “Our shared belief in democratic values connects us with each other.” Mr Modi said “our strategic partnership is completing a decade. Over the past 10 years, our trade has more than doubled.”
Mr Modi said mutual investment has increased almost threefold to cross $150 billion. “Singapore was the first country with which we launched the UPI Person-to-Person payment facility,” he said.
The prime minister said, “I am delighted to inform you that India’s first Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre will soon be inaugurated in Singapore. The great saint Thiruvalluvar provided guiding thoughts to the world in the most ancient language Tamil. His work, the Thirukkural, was composed nearly 2,000 years ago, yet its ideas remain relevant today.”
The Prime Minister met President of Singapore Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam also. Mr Modi appreciated the President’s passionate support for the India-Singapore partnership.
The two leaders noted the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the two countries, which is based on trust, mutual respect and complementarity. Mr Modi conveyed that he looks forward to welcoming President Tharman to India next year.
Among his high-level engagements, Mr Modi met Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister and former Prime Minister of Singapore also. The Senior Minister hosted a lunch in honour of the Prime Minister.
Mr Modi appreciated Senior Minister Lee’s contributions to the development of India-Singapore Strategic Partnership and expressed his hope that Senior Minister Lee will continue to give attention and guidance to Singapore’s relations with India in his new role as Senior Minister.
The prime minister also met Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and noted that he had started the “India Fever” in Singapore and paid special attention to India-Singapore ties when he was the Prime Minister of Singapore.
At his talks with Mr Wong, the prime minister said Singapore with an investment of around USD 160 billion in the Indian economy, is a leading economic partner for India. He noted that rapid and sustained growth in India has opened up immense investment opportunities for Singaporean entities.
The two leaders discussed the outcome of the 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable held in Singapore in August 2024 and appreciated the work done by senior ministers from both sides in deliberating and identifying a new agenda for bilateral cooperation.
The leaders called for accelerated action under the pillars of cooperation identified during the Ministerial Roundtables — Advanced Manufacturing, Connectivity, Digitalization, Healthcare & Medicine, Skills Development and Sustainability.
The leaders underscored that the cooperation in these areas, particularly in the fields of semiconductors and critical and emerging technologies, will open a new chapter in bilateral relations.