Tharman meets with India's president & PM to commemorate 60th anniversary of bilateral relations

Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam met with India’s president Droupadi Murmu, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Jan. 16.

60th anniversary of bilateral ties

Tharman’s working visit commemorates the 60th anniversary of Singapore-India diplomatic relations and is the first visit to India by a sitting president since Tony Tan in 2015.

While in New Delhi, Tharman met with India's president Droupadi Murmu, who hosted him to a state banquet.

There, Tharman and Murmu welcomed the two countries' cooperation in semiconductors, industrial park development, and the green and digital economies, while taking stock of strong bilateral economic relations and growing people-to-people ties.

Tharman met with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same day, where they discussed the "positive momentum in bilateral cooperation, following the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable that took place in August 2024, as well as new cooperation opportunities that might come in tandem with the upcoming upgrading of Singapore-India bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

In addition to meetings with the president and PM, Tharman received calls from several of India's cabinet ministers, such as:

• Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways
• JP Nadda Minister of Health and president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs
• S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs
• Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry
• Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology
• Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Tharman also visited Raj Ghat, the complex that houses memorials to several of India’s former leaders, to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

Unity that is living

In his social media post about the meetings, Tharman said Singapore and India are "natural partners", despite the differences between a "continental-scale nation" and a city state.

He recounted that India was one of the first countries to recognise Singapore, a scant two days after independence from Malaysia.

He described the bilateral relationship as being on "a new trajectory", and that "with each new initiative, we develop trust".

"And we build and refresh that 'unity that is living'."

Roundtable talks, and an honorary citizen

Tharman is on a five-day working visit to India, from Jan. 14 - 18, which will take place in the capital New Delhi and the city of Bhubaneswar in the state of Odisha.

On Jan. 15, Tharman participated in several closed-door roundtable talks with Indian thought leaders, attended various bilateral meetings, and met with Overseas Singaporeans.

He also conferred the Honorary Citizen Award on Tarun Das, the former Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Das was described by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as “one of Singapore’s strongest advocates in India” and has made significant contributions to Singapore-India relations over several decades.

In 1993, Das led the first delegation of Indian industrialists to Singapore as part of India’s “Look East” policy, and personally spearheaded several other important initiatives, such as the India-Singapore Strategic Dialogue.

In response to being made an honorary citizen, Das said he was “deeply honoured and privileged”.

Reflecting on his 31-year journey with Singapore, he said he had seen the “Singapore-India Fever”, and the evolution and growth of a multi-faceted partnership.

On Jan. 17, Tharman will travel to the Indian state of Odisha, where he will meet with various business leaders, as well as visit sites of cultural significance.

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Top image via MDDI/Ngau Kai Yan, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam with India's President Droupadi Murmu