[SINGAPORE] Singapore and India have made good progress in various areas of cooperation, and are set to launch a roadmap that will set out a clear direction and vision for the next phase of bilateral relations, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday (Sep 3) during his official visit to India.
The roadmap, which PM Wong and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to announce on Thursday, sets out cooperation in areas such as semiconductors, maritime and digital connectivity, and the space industry.
PM Wong was speaking with the Hindustan Times during his first official visit to India as Prime Minister. A transcript of the interview was released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
He is in New Delhi until Thursday at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties between Singapore and India.
PM Wong noted that many ideas for cooperation were a result of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), an ongoing dialogue mechanism started in 2022 to “inject new energy” into bilateral ties. The aim was to take the relationship forward, given that the landmark Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) was signed more than 20 years ago.
Thus, when India and Singapore agreed in 2024 to upgrade bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, “it is not just in name, it is in substance”, said PM Wong.
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“And that is what the India-Singapore cooperation is based on – not just on words and rhetoric, but also on concrete action and outcomes,” he added.
“And I believe in this very turbulent world that we are in, the bilateral relationship between our two countries has become more important than ever.”
On cooperation in the semiconductor industry, PM Wong said both sides have signed an agreement and made progress in three different areas.
They include setting up a green lane for semiconductor goods, such as raw materials, equipment, and other supplies, supporting India in training technicians and workers for the industry through a joint training centre in Gujarat, and also collaborating in research and innovation.
Semiconductors, used to make microchips that power computers, mobile phones and cars, are crucial to the digital economy, and PM Wong said India was in a good position to contribute to a more diversified and resilient supply chain.
Many of the semiconductor players in Singapore, which are leading global companies, are also keen to forge links with Indian companies to grow their business, he added.
Singapore is also keen to support India’s development in this area, because a strong and rising India will contribute to stability, resilience and shared prosperity in Asia, he said.
PM Wong also said that he was optimistic about India’s growth prospects in the long run, despite the current geopolitical uncertainties, because of the country’s young population, rising middle class, dynamic technology sector, and a government that was committed to reforms.
This confidence was not new, he added, and is backed by a proven track record and actions such as growing trade between both sides since CECA was signed in 2005.
“So we will continue to invest in India. We will continue to have confidence in India’s prospects for the future,” he said.
Singapore is India’s top foreign investor, accounting for about a quarter of India’s foreign direct investment equity inflows since 2000.
Asked how Singapore can navigate the tensions between the big economic powers, PM Wong said one thing it can proactively do is to work with like-minded countries.
“Work with like-minded countries to foster closer links, to operate on the basis of a rules-based trading framework to bring our economies closer together and to find win-win outcomes,” he said.
This is something Singapore and India can do, given their strategic partnership built on 60 years of friendship and trust, he noted.
“In this very uncertain world, there is all the more reason for us to double down on this very critical India-Singapore relationship, and I certainly look forward to doing so with Prime Minister Modi,” said PM Wong. THE STRAITS TIMES
