SINGAPORE: Singapore and India have managed to forge even closer ties through continued mutual support despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore's President Halimah Yacob said on Sunday as she congratulated the people of India on the country's 75th Independence Day.
The president said the two countries shared a robust partnership that is broad and deep and is underpinned by strong fundamentals in areas including economic, security and people-to-people ties.
"On behalf of the people of Singapore, I extend my warmest congratulations to Your Excellency and the people of India on the occasion of India's 75th Independence Day.
Please accept my best wishes for Your Excellency's good health and continued success," said Halimah in a message to her Indian counterpart President Ram Nath Kovind.
"Despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, our two countries have managed to forge even closer ties through continued mutual support.
This was made possible by the longstanding friendship between our two countries, underpinned by strong fundamentals in areas including economic, security and people-to-people ties," said President Halimah.
She said Singapore continues to be confident of India's growth prospects and remains the largest source of foreign direct investment annually.
"As we look ahead and seek to future-proof our workforce and economies, our two countries are also pursuing greater cooperation in emerging areas of Fintech, digitisation, and innovation," she said.
Singapore has just assumed the role of Country Coordinator for ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations this month.
"We look forward to working with India to deepen India's engagement of the region and to strengthen the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership.
Given the wide-ranging cooperation between our two countries, I am confident that relations between Singapore and India will continue to strengthen as we emerge from the pandemic," said the Singaporean president.
Chairman of Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry T Chandroo led the Singapore business community in congratulating India on its 75 Independence Day.
"The Board and Staff of SICCI would like to wish all Indians a Happy Independence Day," said Chandroo.
Over 8,000 Indian companies are registered in Singapore and over 440 companies from Singapore are registered in India.
"The large presence of Indian companies in Singapore is reflected in the outward Indian FDI into Singapore of nearly USD 71 billion between 2008 and 2021, making Singapore one of the top destinations for Indian investments across sectors," according to a report by the Indian High Commission here.