New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to embark on a two-day visit to the Asian nation, Brunei on September 3-4, and thereafter Singapore, Secretary East in the MEA, Jaideep Mazumdar said in a special briefing on Monday. He noted that the upcoming visit will be the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei. The visit coincides with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Brunei.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the invitation of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, is scheduled to visit Brunei Darussalam during 03-04 September. After that, he will travel to Singapore at the invitation of Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Singapore. It is scheduled between 04-05 September... PM Modi's Brunei visit will be the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister..." said Mazumdar.
Why is PM Modi's Brunei visit significant?
During the visit, the Prime Minister will engage in bilateral discussions on all aspects of our bilateral relations and cooperation with Brunei and also explore new areas for cooperation. "We share a very warm and friendly relationship with Brunei and our engagements cover multiple areas such as defence, trade and investment, energy, space, technology, health, capacity building, culture and vibrant people-to-people exchanges," said MEA.
Brunei is home to about 14,000 Indians wherein the MEA underscored they engaged in noble professions such as doctors and teachers. The Secretary said the Indians in Brunei have earned goodwill and respect for their contributions to its economy and society.
"We have received valuable support from Brunei in our space program. We have three MoUs with Brunei in this area. We established a telemetry tracking and command station in Brunei in 2000 and this tracks and monitors all our eastward launches of satellites and satellite launch vehicles," he said.
"Defence is another important pillar in our bilateral cooperation. We have an MoU on defence, which was signed in 2016 and has since been renewed in 2021. It provides a framework for our collaboration that covers regular exchanges at high levels, naval and coast guard ship exchange visits, training and joint exercises, and participation in each other's exhibitions. We are also working towards establishing a joint working group for cooperation in the area of defence...." he added.
PM Modi's Singapore visit agenda
Meanwhile, detailing PM Modi's Singapore visit, Majumdar said the Indian leader will be visiting the state after six years. Mazumdar underscored that the visit would provide New Delhi with an opportunity to engage with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
"Our trade and investment flows have shown steady growth, we have robust defence cooperation and growing exchanges in culture and education and we have identified new anchors of our partnership under the India-Singapore Ministerial Round Table framework. The visit will also take place in light of our 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, which we are celebrating in 2025 and the 10th year of our strategic partnership with Singapore....", said the MEA official.
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