President Tharman, PM Wong congratulate India’s leaders on 76th Republic Day
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India marks its 76th Republic Day on Jan 26 in an annual display of culture and military prowess.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SINGAPORE – President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong have written to their counterparts in India to congratulate them on the country’s 76th Republic Day, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Jan 26.
In their respective letters to Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Tharman and PM Wong hailed the close relationship that Singapore and India share, with both looking forward to deepening the partnership between the two countries.
India marked its 76th Republic Day on Jan 26 in an annual display of culture and military prowess, with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto as the guest of honour.
In his letter to Mrs Murmu, Mr Tharman noted that relations between the two countries have “grown significantly in depth and breadth over the years”.
He recalled a “productive” state visit to Odisha
In addition to both countries’ governments and enterprises working together on several areas, such as “skilling” and the development of India’s semiconductor ecosystem, new-generation industrial parks, connectivity, and renewable energy and sustainability initiatives, Mr Tharman also said that there is room to increase cooperation at the state level, including the eastern states that have been identified as a new engine of growth for India.
“Singapore believes in India’s future. We will continue to support and invest in India’s growth and development in fields of mutual interest, and look forward to many more decades of close partnership,” said Mr Tharman.
In his letter to Mr Modi, PM Wong lauded India’s “remarkable transformation”, with the country now being the world’s fifth-largest economy, and projected to become the third-largest in the coming years.
He welcomed India’s continued engagement of Asean, noting the “vital role that the country plays in peace, prosperity and stability in the region”.
He said that good progress has been made in the advancement of relations between the regional bloc and India, and that they can continue building on the partnership, especially in emerging areas like the digital and green economies.
PM Wong also highlighted the significant growth of Singapore and India’s relations in areas such as trade, finance, education and defence; and that, through a ministerial roundtable between both countries, the two sides are exploring collaboration in new pillars like sustainability, digitalisation, advanced manufacturing and connectivity.
He said that both countries are making good progress in implementing initiatives that they discussed during Mr Modi’s visit to Singapore in September 2024
“I am confident that our partnership will continue to grow from strength to strength,” said PM Wong.
