Modi in Singapore: Semiconductors added to ministerial roundtable agenda

Singapore: The high-level meeting between senior ministers of India and Singapore has set the stage for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city-state that will happen soon, its Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said.

Senior ministers from the two countries held a "productive" round of discussions at the second multi-ministerial roundtable here and explored how the two countries can boost bilateral cooperation in digital, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity and advanced manufacturing.

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.

Balakrishnan said advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, as well as aviation and maritime connectivity, are the new areas that Singapore and India 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.

Calling the ministers-only meeting "productive", Balakrishnan said 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, adding 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.

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.

PM Wong said he was glad that new ideas for cooperation are being pursued, while progress has been made on several fronts since the 2022 meeting.

At that meeting, both sides agreed to boost cooperation in several areas, including digitisation, green economy, skills development, healthcare and food cooperation.

Besides the link-up between Singapore's PayNow and India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in February 2023, which lets financial institutions from both sides transfer funds in real-time. the two countries have also facilitated investments in renewable energy, such as green ammonia.

"These initiatives will pave the way for closer strategic cooperation and partnership between India and Singapore," said PM Wong in a Facebook post.

Balakrishnan said projects like the digital payments linkage have much more potential, such as to become part of a regional instant payments system. Such a network will facilitate trade and economic development across the region, he added.

That is why cyber security was discussed at the latest roundtable, alongside other ideas on standardising rules and increasing inter-operability so that other countries that want to be part of this network in future can do so more easily, the Singaporean foreign minister added.

At a dinner following the roundtable meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Gan said Singapore and India are natural partners with complementary strengths that have allowed both sides to forge strong economic and investment ties.

Indian companies also form one of the largest foreign corporate contingents in Singapore, he noted.

"I am confident that the discussions we had today and those in the future will pave the way to foster greater collaboration between Singapore and India,” the Deputy prime minister said.