PM Modi to Visit Singapore Amid Deepening China-ASEAN Ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Singapore on September 4-5 at the invitation of Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. The visit aims to bolster India's engagement in Southeast Asia, particularly as China continues to deepen its ties with ASEAN. Modi's visit follows recent meetings with the prime ministers of Vietnam and Malaysia, underscoring India's strategic push in the region.

During his visit, PM Modi will review progress in the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership, with a particular focus on technology, investments, and a potential new partnership in semiconductors. He will meet with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and engage with key business leaders, encouraging further investment in India. Singapore's sovereign wealth funds, Temasek and GIC, are already planning to expand their investments, with Temasek looking to invest $10 billion in India over the next three years.

Preparations for Modi's visit included the India-Singapore Ministerial Dialogue held on August 26, focusing on areas such as digital innovation, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity, and advanced manufacturing.

Singapore is India's largest trading partner among ASEAN countries and a leading source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In 2023-24, Singapore was the largest source of FDI into India, with equity inflows totalling $11.774 billion. Since April 2000, cumulative FDI flows from Singapore to India have reached $159.943 billion, accounting for 24% of total FDI inflows into India. Key sectors attracting FDI from Singapore include services, computer software and hardware, trading, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals.

India and Singapore elevated their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership in 2015. Modi's 2018 visit to Singapore added new momentum to this partnership, with the country becoming India's eighth-largest trade partner and one of the top sources of external commercial borrowings and foreign portfolio investments. The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between the two countries has further expanded bilateral trade, growing from $6.7 billion in 2004-05 to $35.6 billion in 2023-24.

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Singapore is actively collaborating with the Indian central and state governments to establish skill development centres in various sectors across India, further strengthening the bilateral ties between the two countries.