NEW DELHI: India and Singapore will celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2025 with a series of high-level visits, including that of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to India.
President Shanmugaratnam’s upcoming visit to New Delhi and Odisha from January 14 to 18 will mark the first time in the last one decade that a Singaporean president has visited India.
The visit underscores the deepening ties between the two nations, both diplomatically and economically. Singapore, often referred to as India’s window to the East, is also one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) for India.
One of the two pacts on the table is skilling in semiconductors in Odisha, as both the sides look to step up economic ties and air connectivity. The pact will help India garner Singapore’s support in the areas of semiconductor fundamentals, processes, packaging and testing.
The two countries are also looking at increasing the annual FDI, diplomatic sources said. Singapore’s investment makes up about 24 per cent of India’s FDI since 2000. Indian investment in Singapore is $25.3 billion.
The two countries have a robust partnership in aviation and supply chain connectivity. Singapore played a vital role in India becoming a sectoral dialogue partner with Association of South East Asian Nations in 1992 and a full dialogue partner in 1996.
Besides meeting President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shanmugaratnam is likely to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Health Minister JP Nadda, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development Jayant Chaudhary.
He will travel to Bhubaneswar, meet Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and visit the Konark temple.
India-Singapore relations were upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in September 2024. Skill center projects, supported by both public and private sectors, have been completed in six states: Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, and Telangana.
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources said Singapore is eagerly waiting to host Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to collaborate with state government in the development of capital city Amaravati.
Naidu has been of the opinion that the cancellation of collaboration agreements by the previous government severely damaged the state’s reputation. He has directed officials to engage with the Singapore government, explain the events of the past five years, and work towards rebuilding mutual understanding and trust for future development besides meeting Jaishankar.
Naidu recently said that after careful discussions and considering the views of various stakeholders, his government had entered into agreements. However, the previous government “undermined the state’s prestige by abruptly cancelling those agreements. Such hasty decisions caused significant damage.” With a new government in power, the diplomatic sources said that Naidu may visit Singapore soon to resume discussions.
First visit by Singapore prez in a decade
President Shanmugaratnam’s upcoming visit to New Delhi and Odisha from January 14 to 18 will mark the first time in the last one decade that a Singaporean president has visited India. The visit underscores the deepening ties between the two nations, both diplomatically and economically. Singapore, often referred to as India’s window to the East, is also one of the largest sources of FDI for India.