The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Singapore in the first week of September. The visit will be significant in further strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries.
“Prime Minister Modi will visit Singapore on September 4 and 5, 2024, at the invitation of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
In a press release, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “The leaders will review the progress of the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. During the visit, the Prime Minister will call on the President of Singapore, His Excellency Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and hold talks with the Singapore leadership. The Prime Minister will also meet Singapore business leaders.”
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Singapore was earlier mentioned by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan when senior ministers from India and Singapore held a high-level meeting to take forward their strategic ties.
A four-member Indian delegation comprising Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Railway and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently participated in the 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) in Singapore.
“A country of over 1.4 billion people is now embarking on a major upgrade of its aviation sector. This is a once in two, three decades opportunity, and it’s great that we are kind of at the forefront and have the opportunity (to cooperate),” Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said after the meeting.
During the multi-ministerial meeting, the two countries discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in areas such as digital technology, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity and manufacturing.
“I am pleased that progress has been made on many fronts since our last meeting, and new ideas for cooperation, including in advanced manufacturing and connectivity, are being explored. These initiatives will pave the way for closer strategic cooperation and partnership between India and Singapore,” Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said after meeting Indian ministers on Monday.
Bilateral trade between India and Singapore will be $35.61 billion in 2023-24, making Singapore India’s sixth largest global trading partner.
PM Modi will visit Singapore after his visit to Brunei on September 3-4. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said PM Modi’s visit to Brunei will be “the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei and will mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Brunei.”
The Ministry of External Affairs said, “These visits will further strengthen India’s cooperation with Brunei and Singapore bilaterally as well as in regional and multilateral frameworks.”
