Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Singapore soon to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.
The specific dates for the official visit are not yet known, but it will happen shortly, a senior Indian official told NDTV.
Mr Modi’s visit was mentioned by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan after senior ministers of India and Singapore concluded the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) in Singapore this week to further their strategic ties.
Aside from Mr Balakrishnan, Singapore was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng and Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.
The Indian delegation comprised Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Railway and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Calling the meeting “productive”, Mr Balakrishnan said: “We will, very shortly, be announcing an official visit by Prime Minister Modi to Singapore. I cannot give you the specific date, but it will occur shortly.”
During the multi-ministerial meeting, the two countries discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation in the digital arena, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity and manufacturing.
Mr Balakrishnan said that advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, as well as aviation and maritime connectivity, are the new areas that Singapore and India have added to their bilateral talks.
“A country with more than 1.4 billion people is now embarking on a major upgrade of its aviation sector. This is a once in a two, three-decade opportunity, and it’s good that we are, in a sense, in the front seat and have a chance (to collaborate),” he said.
Besides a link-up between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in February 2023, which lets financial institutions from both sides transfer funds in real time, the two countries have also facilitated investments in renewable energy, such as green ammonia.
Mr Balakrishnan said projects like the digital payments linkage have much more potential, such as to become part of a regional instant payments system.
Such a network will facilitate trade and economic development across the region, he added.
That is why cyber security was discussed at the latest roundtable, alongside other ideas on standardising rules and increasing inter-operability so that other countries that want to be part of this network in future can do so more easily, the foreign minister added.
At a dinner following the roundtable meeting, DPM Gan said Singapore and India are natural partners with complementary strengths that have allowed both sides to forge strong economic and investment ties.
Indian companies also form one of the largest foreign corporate contingents in Singapore, he noted.
“I am confident that the discussions we had today and those in the future will pave the way to foster greater collaboration between Singapore and India,” Mr Gan said.
This was the second time that ministers from Singapore and India met at the ISMR, after its inaugural edition was launched in September 2022 by then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Mr Wong, who has since become prime minister, said he was glad that new ideas for cooperation are being pursued, while progress has been made on several fronts since the 2022 meeting.
At that meeting, both sides agreed to boost cooperation in several areas, including digitisation, green economy, skills development, healthcare and food cooperation, reported the Press Trust of India.
