January 17, 2025
NEW DELHI – Business links between Singapore and India are thriving and the “natural partnership” between both countries is on a new trajectory, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Newer areas of collaboration include advanced manufacturing and work in the digital and sustainability spaces.
“We are exploring new initiatives going beyond the existing, very active relationship that we have,” said Mr Tharman, who addressed the India and Singapore media after a ceremonial welcome at the presidential palace, Rashtrapati Bhavan, on Jan 16.
Mr Tharman, who is in India for five days to mark 60 years of Singapore-India relations, was welcomed by Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other dignitaries.
Both countries had agreed to elevate ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Mr Modi’s visit to the Republic in September 2024.
This would deepen existing areas of cooperation and enable new ones.
“I’m optimistic for our relations with India because our leaders see eye to eye… We are natural partners,” Mr Tharman said.
He added that Singapore is invested in India’s Viksit Bharat @ 2047, a road map that seeks to ensure India emerges as a “developed nation” by 2047 – 100 years after its independence.
Several collaborations are already in the works, such as a joint flagship training programme for industry-ready skills in India’s young population, and initiatives to deepen the countries’ partnership in green energy.
Singapore is helping to build up India’s semiconductor ecosystem and working on new generation and net-zero emission industrial parks.
Mr Tharman said Singapore and India are exploring the possibility of a data corridor between the Republic and Gujarat’s financial hub Gift City, “so that our financial institutions can exchange data on a safe and trusted basis”.
“Sustainability is a major priority for both India and Singapore and there too, we’re working actively to look at a corridor for renewable energy,” he added.
“Singapore has been the leading foreign investor in India for several years, and we are now committed to investing in and participating in India’s ambitious plans for the future,” said Mr Tharman, in a speech at a state banquet hosted by President Murmu later in the day.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam speaking at a state banquet hosted by Indian President Droupadi Murmu (in red). PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
He noted the sheer speed and scale of India’s rapid transformation in the last 10 years, such as advances in social and economic development, that has seen the country’s rural poverty being cut by more than half in the last decade.
He also pointed out India’s digital revolution that was rolled out on an unprecedented scale, giving everyone from street vendors to farmers access to bank accounts, health accounts and cashless digital payment systems.
Through platforms like the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, Mr Tharman said both countries will continue to review and refresh the bilateral agenda in their mutual interests.
“With each of these new initiatives, we also show how it is possible to achieve mutual prosperity and trust between nations, in an increasingly uncertain and fractious world,” he said.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the presidential palace in New Delhi on Jan 16. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
Following his visit to New Delhi, Mr Tharman and a delegation from Singapore – including Singaporean business leaders – will visit the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Jan 17 and 18 to explore business and economic opportunities in the state.
“I know that India has high ambition for Odisha, and indeed it has great promise,” he said after the ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan, adding that the delegation will be “going in with their eyes open” to learn as much as they can, and look for opportunities for collaboration.
“The people are hungry… They’ve got natural advantages and their natural resources, and Singapore will look at opportunities from logistics and connectivity to petrochemicals and other areas.”
On Jan 16, Mr Tharman also visited the Raj Ghat memorial to lay a wreath in tribute to independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.
He also held a meeting with Mr Modi, and meetings with a slate of other ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.