Indian PM Modi in Singapore on Sept 4 and 5 for two-day official visit
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Sri Temasek, located on the Istana grounds, on Sept 4.
PHOTO: MDDI
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Singapore on Sept 4 for a two-day official visit, during which both countries are expected to affirm partnerships on several fronts.
It is his fifth visit to Singapore and his first trip here since 2018.
The Indian leader arrived following a two-day visit to Brunei Darussalam and will receive an official welcome at Parliament House on Sept 5.
Following this, he will meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and both leaders will witness the exchange of several memorandums of understanding.
During his visit, Mr Modi will call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and meet Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
PM Wong hosted Mr Modi to a dinner at Sri Temasek, located on the Istana grounds, on Sept 4. The Indian Prime Minister will also be hosted to lunch by SM Lee on Sept 5.
Mr Modi’s visit is taking place at the invitation of PM Wong. It comes ahead of the countries marking 60 years of diplomatic relations, as well as the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership, both of which take place in 2025.
The visit is taking place early in Mr Modi’s third term and PM Wong’s first. PM Wong took office as Singapore’s fourth prime minister in May, his Indian counterpart was re-elected in June.
Singapore is the largest foreign direct investor in India, accounting for almost a quarter of foreign direct investment equity flows into India. Indian investment in Singapore has also grown from $481 million in 2004, to about $25.3 billion in 2022.
In a statement, the Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Mr Modi will participate in a business roundtable with Singaporean business leaders organised by the Singapore Business Federation, and interact with players from Singapore’s semiconductor ecosystem.
Mr Modi will also engage students from Singapore who did internships in India as part of the India Ready Talent Programme, which offers university and polytechnic students overseas internship opportunities at Indian and Singapore companies in India. He will then meet interns from Odisha’s World Skills Centre working in companies here.
Mr Modi is accompanied by Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and other government officials.
The second edition of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) on Aug 26,
Semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, and air and sea connectivity were identified as new areas of cooperation by ministers from both sides at the ISMR. Discussions under the pillars of digitalisation, skills development, sustainability, as well as healthcare and medicine – originally raised at the first ISMR in New Delhi in September 2022 – were reviewed and furthered.
On the sidelines of the second ISMR, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan noted that the areas of cooperation identified at the discussions provide significant, mutual opportunities for both countries, as well as their companies.
“We have skin in the game as well, and we certainly have much to gain as the Indian economy develops and increases in sophistication and global prominence.”
In a briefing with Indian media ahead of Mr Modi’s visit to South-east Asia on Sept 2, Mr Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said the India-Singapore relationship “is poised for an even bigger take-off than what has been in the last 10 to 15 years”.
“We have now gone to the next level of identifying areas of bilateral cooperation, whether it be in food security, renewables, green hydrogen or semiconductors... These are all areas where we have great complementarities... and I see our relationship as really taking off to the next stage,” he said.
