India and Singapore on Monday reviewed bilateral cooperation in a range of fields and added advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and aviation and maritime connectivity as new areas for collaboration under a ministerial mechanism.
These issues figured at the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) hosted by Singapore, and the mechanism was expanded with the involvement of more ministers by both sides. People familiar with the matter said this reflects the importance attached to the mechanism and the growth in scope of bilateral cooperation.
The two sides finalised around half a dozen agreements in areas such as food trade, digital cooperation, skill development, healthcare and green economy that are expected to be unveiled when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Singapore next month, the people said.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar, in a post on X, described the talks as productive and said the two sides explored cooperation in sustainability, healthcare and connectivity. “ISMR enables the emergence of a more contemporary partnership,” he said.
Also Read:Jaishankar on those ‘upset’ over PM Modi-Putin hug in Moscow: ‘In our part of world…’
Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan told reporters after the meeting that advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and aviation and maritime connectivity are new areas the two sides have added under the mechanism. These are areas of significant opportunity for both countries and their businesses, he said.
Balakrishnan too described the meeting as productive and said it set the stage for Modi’s visit, which is expected to “occur shortly”. He pointed to opportunities in India’s aviation sector with Indian airlines placing orders for close to 1,000 new aircraft.
Noting that India is embarking on a “major upgrade” of its aviation sector, he said: “This is a once in a two- [or] three-decade opportunity and it’s good that we are…in the front seat and have a chance.”
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal said the two sides held talks on “further elevating and broadening our strategic partnership across the key pillars of ISMR” and reaffirmed their shared vision of deepening economic ties.
The first meeting of the roundtable in September 2022 featured India’s commerce, finance and foreign ministers, while Singapore fielded its finance, foreign, transport and trade ministers. For the second meeting, India added electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while Singapore added home minister K Shanmugam, digital development minister Josephine Teo, and manpower minister Tan See Leng.
The first meeting of the roundtable had identified digitalisation, food trade, energy and green economy, skill development, healthcare and pharmaceuticals as areas of collaboration. Since then, India and Singapore have linked their digital payment systems – Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow – to facilitate real-time payments between banks or e-wallets, and a pilot shipment involving digital exchange of bills of lading through the TradeTrust framework was carried out.
Balakrishnan said there is more potential in digital payments, including the possibility of a regional real-time payment system. The two sides discussed cyber-security, standardisation of rules and greater inter-operability that could lead to the expansion of the system to other countries, he said.
The Indian ministers also met Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a post on X that the conversation with Wong showed that India-Singapore relations are on a sound footing. “Together, we shall work to strengthen the relationship for the benefit of our people,” she said.
Wong, who led the Singapore delegation at the first ministerial roundtable in his earlier role as deputy premier, said on X that the ISMR is an important platform to strengthen bilateral cooperation. “Glad that progress has been made on several fronts since our last meeting [and] new ideas for cooperation are being pursued, including in advanced manufacturing and connectivity,” he said.
The two sides also discussed plans for commemorating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and regional and global cooperation, including at ASEAN and G20.
A commerce ministry official said that on the eve of the ministerial roundtable, Goyal met global investment firms having assets of more than $500 billion at the India-Singapore Business Roundtable and discussed investment opportunities in India. The business leaders represented Temasek Holdings, Blackstone Singapore, DBS Bank, Singapore Airlines, OMERS and Keppel Infrastructure.
In 2023-24, Singapore was the largest source of foreign direct investments (FDI) for India, with an estimated $11.77 billion in inflows. The cumulative inflows from Singapore from April 2000 to March 2024 were around $159.94 billion.
In bilateral trade, Singapore was India’s sixth largest global trade partner in 2023-24, with total trade worth $35.61 billion, accounting for about 29% of the country’s total trade with ASEAN.
