Engage with India’s diversity and do it with humility, mutual respect: President Tharman

NEW DELHI - Understand the opportunities in different parts of India, because there will be opportunities for Singaporeans to add value with their skills and experience wherever they go, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam told overseas Singaporeans.

And in engaging with India’s diversity, do so with mutual respect, he said, adding: “Whatever we do in India, do it with some humility.”

“This is a continent that has its own deep history, depth of culture, and they’ve got ways of doing things that we can learn from as well – so it’s a two-way learning relationship,” Mr Tharman said.

Mr Tharman was speaking in New Delhi on Jan 15, at a reception with overseas Singaporeans to celebrate the longstanding relationship between the two countries, as well as the Republic’s 60th year of independence.

He is in India for a five-day state visit, where he will be spending time in both New Delhi and the eastern Indian state of Odisha.

Addressing a crowd of around 200 people – mostly Singaporeans working in India – the President noted that Odisha is not necessarily a part of India that Singaporeans often go to or that businesses are very familiar with.

“When we as Singaporeans, businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals and individuals, engage with India, we’ve got to appreciate and immerse ourselves in India’s diversity,” he said. “That’s a tremendous strength of India, and we’ve got to get to know it.”

Both countries want to benefit from each other, Mr Tharman said.

“That mutual interest that we have in strengthening our relationship is now a rock solid foundation for the future,” he added.

Mr Tharman also highlighted that the relationship between Singapore and India is in “a new phase”.

He noted how both countries are working to strengthen existing areas of cooperation, like skills, defence and economic relationships, but also cooperating on new initiatives, such as helping India develop its semiconductor ecosystem, new generation industrial parks, and on sustainability.

“It’s a relationship that has kept evolving, kept refreshing itself, and now serves the future-oriented interests of Singapore and India,” he said. “We see eye to eye with the Indian leadership despite being such different countries.”

Added Mr Tharman: “So let’s broaden our view of India, engage more often with it, and we will all be the better for it.”

On Jan 16, Mr Tharman will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the president, and meet President Droupadi Murmu, who will host a state banquet in his honour. He will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several ministers.

In Odisha, he will be briefed on economic strategies and opportunities in the state and visit venues including the Bharat Biotech vaccine manufacturing plant, and the World Skills Centre, which was set up by Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education Services.