S'pore & India ministers hail 60 years of diplomatic ties, invite India president to make state visit to S'pore

The third India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) was held on Aug. 13 in New Delhi, India.

During the roundtable, the two delegations reaffirmed the close and longstanding relationship between the two countries and discussed deeper cooperation in areas such as sustainability, digitalisation, skills development, healthcare and medicine, advanced manufacturing and connectivity.

The Singapore delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong.

It included:

• Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam
• Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan
• Minister for Digital Development & Information Josephine Teo
• Minister for Manpower and Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology Tan See Leng
• Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow

Discussed deeper cooperation between the two countries

Topics addressed also included working together on cross-border data flows and capital markets via the use of regulatory sandboxes, as well as cooperation on semiconductor and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) skills training.

The ministers also considered the possibility of Singaporean companies developing sustainable industrial parks in India.

Invitation for presidents of both countries

The Singapore delegation also called on Indian President Droupadi Murmu on the same day.

The two parties celebrated the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations and reaffirmed their strong bilateral cooperation.

They also emphasised the importance of exploring new ways to collaborate and agreed that the ISMR was a vital platform for them to do so.

Gan also told Murmu that Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam had extended an invitation to her, inviting the president to come to Singapore for a State Visit.

India-Singapore Business Roundtable

The third India-Singapore Business Roundtable (ISBR) was also held on the same day, bringing together prominent business leaders from both Singapore and India.

A total of six Singaporean business leaders and ten business leaders from India participated in the ISBR.

Discussions during the roundtable focused on possible collaboration in areas such as digitalisation, industrial development, skilling and infrastructure financing to enhance business and cultural ties.

The ISBR is an important forum as it allows business leaders to identify possible ways to strengthen India-Singapore business relations, while also forging stronger interpersonal connections.

The Indian delegation comprised:

• Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman
• Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar
• Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal
• Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Railways, Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw

Top photo via MDDI