Strategic partnership with Singapore in focus as Indian ministers engage in high-level talks

Singapore, Aug 26 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw jointly called on Singapore Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong on Monday ahead of the second round of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR).

The four ministers also attended a luncheon meeting hosted by Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

"Honoured to jointly call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam of Singapore. Conveyed the warm greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Value his guidance on ways to further take forward the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership," EAM Jaishankar posted on X after the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met CEOs of various Singaporean companies over breakfast.

"Discussions centered around how these stakeholders having significant investments in India, can grow further while contributing to the journey of achieving PM Narendra Modi ji's vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047," said Goyal.

ISMR is a unique high-level mechanism established to set a new agenda for India–Singapore bilateral relations.

"This meeting will enable both sides to review various aspects of their Strategic Partnership and identify new avenues to further elevate and broaden it," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

The second ISMR will review the progress from the first ISMR, held in New Delhi in September 2022, and identify new growth areas of cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will lead the Singapore delegation, which also comprises Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam, Minister for Digital Development and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng, and Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat.

"The establishment of the ISMR is a pathbreaking initiative which was envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reflects the unique nature of India-Singapore bilateral relationship," the MEA had said after the inaugural ISMR meeting.

Discussions during the inaugural round especially focused on emerging areas of digital connectivity, fintech, green economy, skill development and food security.

Appreciating ISMR, PM Modi had hoped that such initiatives would help further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.

After the first meeting, a FinTech Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in Gujarat.

"SMR is a leaders-led forum to explore opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration given the rapidly evolving geopolitical developments in a post-Covid-19 recovery phase and ongoing supply chain disruptions. The Ministers affirmed the longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship between India and Singapore, with deep reservoirs of strategic trust. The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including food security, energy security, digitalisation, green technology, and skills development," stated Singapore Foreign Ministry after the inaugural roundtable.