India and Singapore boost ties, signing 4 MoUs on semiconductors, digital tech, and healthcare during Modi’s meeting with Singapore PM

On Thursday, India and Singapore elevated their bilateral relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” and signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), including one focused on collaboration in the semiconductor industry, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with his counterpart, Lawrence Wong.

The MoUs include Cooperation in Digital Technologies, India-Singapore Semiconductor Ecosystem Partnership, Collaboration in Health and Medicine, and an MoU on Educational Cooperation and Skills Development.

In his opening remarks, Modi emphasized that Singapore is not only a partner nation but also serves as an inspiration for every developing country.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared on X, “A new chapter in ties: Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established. PM @narendramodi and PM @LawrenceWongST held a productive meeting in Singapore today.”

He added, “The leaders agreed to elevate the ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They conducted an extensive review of various facets of the bilateral relationship, covering areas such as advanced Manufacturing, Connectivity, Digitalisation, Healthcare & Medicine, Skills Development, and Sustainability.

In a statement, the MEA said that both leaders discussed the development of bilateral ties between Singapore and India.

“They decided to upgrade the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership due to the magnitude of potential and the breadth and depth of bilateral relationships. Additionally, this will greatly strengthen India’s Act East Policy, it stated.

The leaders advocated for increasing trade and investment flows between the two nations in light of the strong advancements in economic relations. The prime minister emphasized Singapore’s status as India’s top economic partner, with around USD 160 billion invested in the Indian economy. He stated that there are now a tonne of investment prospects for Singaporean firms due to India’s rapid and steady expansion.

Additionally, they reviewed existing cooperation in areas such as defence and security, maritime domain awareness, education, AI, fintech, new technology domains, science and technology, and knowledge partnership. The leaders called for strengthened connectivity to boost economic and people-to-people ties and advocated for accelerating green corridor projects.

They also discussed the outcomes of the 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable held in Singapore in August 2024.

“The leaders acknowledged that the Ministerial Roundtable is a special vehicle and expressed gratitude for the effort that senior ministers from both sides did in discussing and coming up with a new agenda for bilateral cooperation. Under the cooperation pillars of advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalization, healthcare & medicine, skills development, and sustainability that were established during the Ministerial Roundtables, the leaders called for accelerated action, according to the statement.

The leaders emphasized that cooperation in these areas, especially in semiconductors and critical and emerging technologies, ushers in a new era for bilateral relations, making them more future-oriented, the statement added.

Their discussion also included plans for celebrating the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2025. Highlighting the cultural connection between the two nations, Prime Minister Modi announced the opening of India’s first Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre in Singapore.

Additionally, the leaders exchanged views on significant regional and global issues of mutual interest, including India-ASEAN relations and India’s vision for the Indo-Pacific.

Wong accepted the invitation from the Prime Minister to travel to India.

In his opening remarks, Modi thanked Wong for the warm welcome. “This is our first meeting since you assumed the role of premier. Congratulations on your new position. I am confident that under the leadership of the fourth-generation leaders, Singapore will continue to advance rapidly,” Modi stated.

He added, “We aim to replicate Singapore’s success in India, and I am pleased that we are collaborating in this direction. The ministerial roundtable established between us is a groundbreaking mechanism.” Modi highlighted that the partnership between the two nations in areas such as skilling, digitalisation, mobility, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare, sustainability, and cybersecurity has become a hallmark of this mechanism.

“Today’s conversations with my friend, PM Lawrence Wong, resumed. We had conversations about how to increase collaboration in fields including healthcare, technology, AI, and skill development, among others. We both agreed that commercial relations have to be improved,” Modi wrote on X following the meeting.

The meeting between the leaders follows Wong’s recent assumption of office as premier and Modi’s beginning of his third term as prime minister.