In the afternoon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Singapore on Wednesday, marking the second leg of his two-nation tour after his historic visit to Brunei. His visit to Singapore comes as an invitation from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
PM Modi received a warm welcome by the Indian diaspora as he was seen arriving at the airport with the traditional Maharashtrian dance and drums. While the people present at the venue, which included several children, enjoyed every bit of the musical evening, PM Modi also tried his hand at the dhol. Taking to X, PM Modi said, "Landed in Singapore. Looking forward to the various meetings aimed at boosting the India-Singapore friendship. India's reforms and the talent of our Yuva Shakti make our nation an ideal investment destination. We also look forward to closer cultural ties."
On his visit, PM Modi will attend various meetings for the strategic partnership of both countries. There will also be discussions and a keen interest in deepening the cultural ties and ties between the peoples.
The areas under consideration for key expanded cooperation include digital innovation, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity, and advanced manufacturing. "I look forward to the opportunity to meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. I will also be meeting with the leaders of Singapore's vibrant business community," said PM Modi in his departure statement on Tuesday.
"I look forward to my discussions to deepen our Strategic Partnership with Singapore, especially in new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing, digitalisation, and sustainable development," the departure statement further read. Last week, a high-level Indian delegation comprising External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw participated in the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) hosted in Singapore.
The delegation had also met the Singapore PM, who had led the country's delegation at the first ISMR held in New Delhi in September 2022. After the meeting, Prime Minister Wong noted, "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. These initiatives would form the basis for further strategic cooperation and partnership between India and Singapore." As expected, the visit by PM Modi is going to bring the relationship between India and Singapore closer on both economic and cultural cooperation.
"Singapore is India's largest trade partner in ASEAN and a leading source of foreign direct investment. Singapore is India's sixth-largest trading partner in the world and the single-largest source of foreign direct investment in the last financial year. "Investments have also been very large since 2000. Till now, we have had a cumulative FDI of about 160 billion US dollars," said Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary East at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), before the Prime Minister left for the two-nation visit.
An interaction with business leaders would take place during the Prime Minister's visit and this would be an important element of the visit because the CEOs would be listening to India's growth story first-hand from the Prime Minister and the opportunities that it presents for them, he added.
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