New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left on a two-day visit, making his first stop to the Asian country of Brunei to mark the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian PM as both countries celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations. He will next embark on a visit to Singapore to engage with his counterpart Lawrence Wong and others to deepen the strategic partnership between the two nations.
"PM @narendramodi takes off for Bandar Seri Begawan, the first destination of his 2-Nation visit to Brunei and Singapore. This is the first ever bilateral visit by an Indian PM to Brune," said the Ministry of External Affairs.
"Today, I am embarking on a first-ever bilateral visit to Brunei Darussalam. As we celebrate the 40 years of our diplomatic relations, I look forward to my meetings with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other esteemed members of the Royal family to advance our historical relationship to new heights," said PM Modi in a statement before departing for Brunei.
"From Brunei, I will travel to Singapore on 4 September. I look forward to the opportunity to meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. I will also meet with leaders of Singapore’s vibrant business community. I look forward to my discussions to deepen our Strategic Partnership with Singapore, particularly in new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing, digitalisation, and sustainable development," he added.
The Prime Minister asserted that both countries are important partners in India's Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific Vision and expressed confidence that his visits would further strengthen partnerships with Brunei, Singapore and the larger ASEAN region.
Why PM Modi's visit to Brunei is 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 the Ministry of External Affairs.
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," said MEA Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar.
"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.
India and Brunei Darussalam established diplomatic relations on May 10, 1984. The Indian mission in Brunei was established on May 18, 1993. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the first Indian leader to visit Brunei when he participated in the 11th ASEAN-India Summit and the 8th EAS Summit on October 9-10, 2013. PM Modi and the Sultan first met on the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN Summit at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in 2014.
PM Modi's visit to Singapore
PM Modi's upcoming visit to Singapore follows a high-level meeting between senior ministers of both countries, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. They held a "productive" round of discussions at the second multi-ministerial roundtable and explored how the two countries can boost bilateral cooperation in digital, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity and advanced manufacturing.
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," he added.
ALSO READ | PM Modi to embark on Brunei visit in a first ever bilateral tour by an Indian Prime Minister: MEA
