PM Modi in Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday arrived in Singapore for the first time in nearly six years, marking his fifth official visit after concluding his 'productive' two-day trip to Brunei, where he was the first Indian leader to make a bilateral visit. PM Modi came to Singapore at the invitation of his counterpart Lawrence Wong.
He received an official welcome at the Changi Airport. Apart from meeting Wong, Modi would call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. Wong and Lee will host Modi with separate meals.
"Landed in Singapore. Looking forward to a the various meetings aimed at boosting the India-Singapore friendship. India’s reforms and the talent of our Yuva Shakti makes our nation an ideal investment destination. We also look forward to closer cultural ties," he said on his official X handle.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the leaders will review the progress of India–Singapore Strategic Partnership and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. "I look forward to my discussions to deepen our Strategic Partnership with Singapore, particularly in new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing, digitalization, and sustainable development," Modi said in his departure statement ahead of his visit.
PM Modi's agenda in Singapore
The Indian PM will also Singaporean business leaders and interact with those in the country’s semiconductor ecosystem. He will also meet interns from both countries, the Singapore students who did internships in India through the India Ready Talent Programme, as well as interns from Odisha who are working in Singapore companies. His visit comes after the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable held at Shangri-La Singapore on August 26.
PM Modi's visit comes ahead of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership. "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," said the MEA.
India-Singapore relations
India and Singapore established diplomatic relations in 1965 and share warm and friendly relations with robust ties in trade and investment, economic cooperation, defence, maritime security, energy and more. The India-Singapore relations were elevated to Strategic Partnership during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore in 2015. Singapore also houses a large Indian diaspora (3.5 lakh), becoming one of the biggest ethnic minorities there.
Singapore has become a crucial partner of India's Act East policy and is the largest trading partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and sixth-largest overall, with $35.6 billion in 2023-24. Singapore also provides foreign direct investment (FDI) of $11.77 billion, the largest in the region. About 9,000 Indian companies are registered in Singapore.
'The time is ripe for next level of ties'
Ahead of PM Modi's arrival, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the Indian leader always had 'special sentiment' for the Asian country and asserted that the time was ripe for India-Singapore ties to move to the next level. He said relations between the two countries have been extremely strong in the last two decades and need to become more contemporary given the changes across the world.
In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times, Jaishankar said Singapore should fully utilise the new landscape as India has accelerated national growth and modernisation in the last decade. "Beyond the bilateral, there is also the issue of closer collaboration in a volatile and uncertain world. In this regard, we must recognise that ours is a partnership based on a high degree of trust and understanding... Prime Minister Modi has always had a special sentiment for Singapore and that leadership connect will matter more than ever before," he said.
"As regards the global scenario, we have built on the Act East policy to now have a full-fledged Indo-Pacific commitment. There is a new equilibrium in the making and India will certainly play its part. This is very much in the interest of Singapore and ASEAN. In an era where we will witness deficits in regard to global commons, our relationship can make a bigger difference," he further said.
(with agency input)
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