India and Singapore on Thursday elevated their ties to the level of a “comprehensive strategic partnership” by signing four MoUs, including one on cooperation in the semiconductor industry, with companies from the prosperous city-state pledging to invest nearly US$60 billion over the next few years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here on a two-day visit from Brunei, described Singapore as a model for developing countries and said India wants to create “many Singapores” of its own during talks with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
“PM @narendramodi and @LawrenceWongST held productive talks today. They exchanged views on ways to further deepen India-Singapore partnership in technology, healthcare, trade, skills development and other key areas,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X.
Later, PM Modi held a roundtable meeting with top business leaders and CEOs in Singapore where they discussed ways to deepen economic ties. Highlighting the ongoing reforms in India that will encourage investment and innovation, PM Modi invited Singaporean business leaders to consider investment opportunities in India in sectors such as aviation, energy and skill development.
At a roundtable meeting with business leaders, Singapore companies committed to invest about USD 60 billion (over Rs 5 lakh crore) over the next few years, officials said.
“Collaborative initiatives have been identified in areas such as skills, digitalisation, mobility, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and AI, healthcare, sustainability and cyber security,” Prime Minister Modi said during the meeting with Lawrence Wong.
Describing Singapore as an “important anchor” of India’s Act East Policy, Prime Minister Modi said, “Our strategic partnership is completing a decade. Our trade has more than doubled in the last 10 years. Mutual investments have almost tripled to cross US$ 150 billion. Singapore was the first country with which we launched the UPI person-to-person payment facility.” Noting that 17 Singapore satellites have been launched from Indian soil in the last ten years, Prime Minister Modi said bilateral cooperation has gained momentum in areas ranging from skills to defence.
He said, “I am happy that today we are taking our relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.”
The two leaders exchanged MoUs for cooperation in semiconductors, digital technology, skill development and healthcare. These are outcomes of discussions held during the two rounds of India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable Conference so far.
Prime Minister Modi also announced the setting up of the Invest India Office in Singapore, which will be a support office for investors in Singapore in various sectors identified in the six pillars.
In their talks, the two leaders reviewed existing cooperation in the fields of defence and security, maritime domain awareness, education, AI, fintech, new technology domains, science and technology and knowledge partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The leaders also exchanged views on important regional and global issues of mutual interest, including India-ASEAN relations and India’s vision for the Indo-Pacific.
In a joint statement, the two countries expressed their commitment to work together to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, which will help promote free trade and open markets.
The joint statement said the two leaders “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea”, in an apparent reference to China, which claims most of the sea, while the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also have counter claims.
PM Modi also said that India’s first Tiruvalluvar Cultural Centre will soon be opened in Singapore. “The great saint Tiruvalluvar gave the world guiding thoughts in the most ancient language, Tamil. His work, Tirukkural, was written almost 2,000 years ago, yet its thoughts are relevant even today,” he said.
The two leaders discussed the outcome of the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable Conference to be held in Singapore in August 2024. Their discussions also covered the celebration of the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2025.
The Prime Minister invited Lawrence Wong to visit India, which he accepted.
Prime Minister Modi thanked Lawrence Wong for the warm welcome. “This is our first meeting after I took over as Prime Minister. My heartiest congratulations to you. I am confident that Singapore will progress even faster under the leadership of 4G (fourth generation leaders),” Prime Minister Modi said.
“Discussions with my friend Prime Minister Lawrence Wong continued today. Our talks focused on enhancing cooperation in skills, technology, healthcare, AI and other areas. We both agreed on the need to boost trade ties,” PM Modi said in a post on X later.
Lawrence Wong said that Singapore and India enjoy a deep and abiding friendship, built on strong economic and people-to-people ties.
“Had a fruitful meeting with Indian PM @narendramodi at Parliament House. We charted a visionary agenda for the next phase of our bilateral relationship,” he wrote on Twitter.
“This includes closer cooperation in areas such as sustainability, advanced manufacturing, digital technology and connectivity. We are also upgrading the Singapore-India Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” he said.
Lawrence Wong said, “This is timely, as we are expanding our partnership into new, mutually beneficial areas. We will also celebrate the 60th anniversary of our diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of our strategic partnership next year.”
He said that Singapore is keen to strengthen bilateral relations and create new opportunities for the people of both countries.
Prime Minister Modi was given a ceremonial welcome at the Parliament House ahead of talks with Lawrence Wong.
This meeting between the two leaders took place a few months after Lawrence Wong became the Prime Minister and PM Modi started his third term as Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Modi and Lawrence Wong also visited a leading Singaporean company in the semiconductor and electronics sector and discussed ways of cooperation in this important industry. This is his fifth visit as Prime Minister, all previous visits were made during his first term as Prime Minister.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
