On his three-day visit to Brunei and Singapore, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi interacted with a group of leading Singaporean CEOs from diverse sectors including investment funds, infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, sustainability and logistics, on the last day of his dynamic and result oriented visit. Appreciating their investment footprint in India, he acknowledged the role played by the Singaporean industry leaders in strengthening bilateral relations and promoting economic cooperation between India and Singapore.
Facilitating their collaboration with India, PM Modi also announced the setting of an ‘INVEST INDIA’ office in Singapore. He forwarded that the elevation of India-Singapore ties to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ would give a major thrust to bilateral economic relations. He invited these leaders to look at investment opportunities in India and enhance their presence. PM assured that India will increase the pace and scale of infrastructure development and apprised Singaporean CEOs of new opportunities in the fields of “Railways, Roads, Ports, Civil Aviation, Industrial Parks and Digital connectivity”.
Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Home Affairs and Law H.E. Mr. K Shanmugam of Singapore, participated in the event. Alongside, 20 other prominent business and industry leaders participated in the Business Round Table.
It was the first meeting of India’s PM Modi with the Prime Minister of Singapore, His Excellency Mr. Lawrence Wong, since he assumed office. Appreciating the ties between the two countries, PM Modi shared, “Singapore is not merely a partner country; it serves as an inspiration for every developing nation. We also aim to create multiple ‘Singapore’ within India.”
In this regard, he forwarded that various collaborative initiatives have been identified between both the countries in areas such as skilling, digitalization, mobility, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and AI, healthcare, sustainability and cybersecurity.
Singapore is also an important facilitator of India’s ‘Act East policy’. Here, shared belief in democratic values connects the two. PM Modi also held: “Over the past ten years, our trade has more than doubled”. At their talks, both leaders reviewed the progress of India – Singapore bilateral relations.
Taking stock of the robust progress in economic ties, the leaders called for further expanding trade and investment flows between the two countries. Prime Minister Modi highlighted that Singapore with an investment of around USD 160 billion in the Indian economy, is a leading economic partner for India. They also reviewed existing cooperation in defense and security, maritime domain awareness, education, AI, Fintech, new technology domains, science and technology and knowledge partnership. They also called for acceleration in green corridor projects.
“Singapore is the first country with which we launched the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) Person-to-Person payment facility”, shared PM Modi. He also spoke about various initiatives to enhance India’s participation in global value chains through programs such as the Production Linked Incentive scheme, the India Semiconductor Mission and the establishment of 12 new Industrial ‘Smart Cities’.
In the past ten years, 17 satellites of Singapore have been launched from Indian soil. As such, this cooperation has gained momentum from skilling to the defence sector. The agreement between Singapore Airlines and Air India has strengthened connectivity. He also expressed happiness in elevating the relationship to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’. The 3.5 lakh people of Indian origin residing in Singapore are the strong foundation of this relationship. “We are thankful to the entire Singapore for the place and honor that Subhash Chandra Bose, Azad Hind Fauj and Little India have received in Singapore”, shared PM Mr Modi.
In 2025, this relationship will celebrate its 60th anniversary. To mark this occasion with grandeur, both countries should collaborate on creating an action plan. He also felt delighted when informed that India’s first “Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre” will soon be inaugurated in Singapore. The great saint Thiruvalluvar provided guiding thoughts to the world in the most ancient language Tamil. His work, the “Thirukkural” was composed nearly 2,000 years ago, yet its ideas remain relevant today. It is “Nayanodu Nanri Purind Payanudaiyar Panbu Paratattum Ulagu”, which means “the world admires those who are known for their sense of justice and service to others.”
Reminding India’s Indo-Pacific vision in Singapore at the “Shangri-La Dialogue”, he expressed, “We will continue to work with Singapore to promote regional peace, stability, and prosperity.” He also expressed his heartfelt thanks for the honor and the warm hospitality extended to him.
Coming back to India, Mr Modi tweeted: “My visit to Singapore has been a very fruitful one. It will certainly add vigor to bilateral ties and benefit the people of our nations. I thank the government and people of Singapore for their warmth.” Responding, His Excellency Mr. Lawrence Wong tweeted, “Happy to have hosted you, PM Modi. Hope you had a fruitful visit.”
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