PM Modi Singapore Visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Singapore soon, its Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said. The stage for PM Modi's visit was set by the high-level meeting between senior ministers of the two countries.
Senior ministers from the two countries held a "productive" round of discussions at the second multi-ministerial roundtable in Singapore and explored how the two nations can boost and enhance bilateral cooperation in several areas, including digital, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity, and advanced manufacturing.
Notably, this was the second time that ministers from Singapore and India met at the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) after its inaugural edition was launched in September 2022 by then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during a five-day visit to India, as reported by The Straits Times.
Balakrishnan said on Monday that advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, as well as aviation and maritime connectivity, are the new areas that the two countries have added to a high-level platform for discussing ways to enhance bilateral cooperation.
These two additions to the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable are areas of significant opportunity for both countries, as well as their companies, the Singaporean foreign minister was quoted as saying by The Straits Times on Tuesday.
Terming the ministers-only meeting "productive," Balakrishnan stated it also sets the stage for an official visit to Singapore by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will "occur shortly".
On Monday, he said that both countries want to collaborate on advanced manufacturing and semiconductors—a sector that India wants to expand significantly, and one where Singapore punches well above its weight.
India is also likely to see tremendous growth in aviation in the coming years, having ordered more than 1,000 planes in the past year alone, the Singaporean foreign minister said, as per the Straits Times report.
The minister further stated that it represents great opportunities for services such as maintenance and air operations in the coming years—another niche area where Singapore and its companies are globally competitive.
"A country with more than 1.4 billion people is now embarking on a major upgrade of its aviation sector. This is a once in a two, three-decade opportunity, and it’s good that we are, in a sense, in the front seat and have a chance (to collaborate),” he said, as quoted by The Straits Times.
Besides Balakrishnan, Singapore was represented at the ISMR by Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, and Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.
India was represented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Electronics and Information Technology, Railways, and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
At the meeting, the ministers reaffirmed the close and long-standing relationship between the two nations, underpinned by strong economic and people-to-people ties, said the Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry in a joint release.