An Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today held a bilateral meeting with Singapore Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin on the fifth day of its South East Asia tour.

On this occasion, Birla told his Singaporean counterpart that India and Singapore believed in democratic governance and regular dialogues between parliamentarians of democratic countries can strengthen democracy and effective functioning of democratic institutions.

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Mentioning the new Parliament Building under construction in New Delhi, Birla said the new Parliament Building will realize the hopes and aspirations of New India of the 21st century.

He expressed confidence that construction work of the new building would be completed soon and the next winter session would be held in the new Parliament House.

Expressing happiness that Singapore has a large number of Indian working nationals, and Singapore has traditionally recognized the talent and hard work of people of Indian origin, Birla hoped that there would be no adverse policy changes for Indians in Singapore’s Work Pass Framework.

Noting that discussions are taking place between the two countries to further strengthen the economic ties in the changing context, Birla expressed the view that strengthening the supply chain is a new need in today’s world.

In this context, he said India’s goal is to become an important part of the world supply chain. Birla said that India’s rapidly growing economy, skilled and affordable manpower and dynamic market system can provide new opportunities for prosperity and growth for Singaporean companies.

Referring to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore, Birla said that after that visit Fintech was identified as an important area of cooperation. Digital connectivity has grown tremendously since then.

He stressed that “we should take advantage of the new opportunities in this area.” He suggested that integration of monetary and payment systems between the two countries would facilitate work, especially for citizens and companies.

The Speaker appreciated the positive role played by Singapore in promoting ASEAN-India relations and expressed the view that the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership has been given a boost during Singapore’s Presidency since 2018.

He said that India looks forward to working more closely with Singapore during Singapore’s coordinating role in the ASEAN-India dialogue relationship.

Earlier, the Indian Parliamentary Delegation visited the Indian National Army (INA) Memorial of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and paid floral tributes.

The delegation included Lok Sabha members Ravneet Singh, Locket Chatterjee and Sarmistha Sethi, and Rajya Sabha members Saroj Pandey and Santanu Sen, and Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh.

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