New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Singapore in the first week of September, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday. The visit will be crucial in further strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.

“PM Modi will visit Singapore on September 4 and September 5, 2024, at the invitation of the PM, his excellency Lawrence Wong,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

“The leaders will review the progress of India–Singapore Strategic Partnership and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. During the visit, Prime Minister will call on President of Singapore H.E. Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam and interact with Singaporean leadership. Prime Minister will also meet with business leaders from Singapore,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.

PM Modi’s Singapore visit was previously mentioned by Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan after senior ministers of India and Singapore concluded a high-level meeting to further their strategic ties.

A four-member Indian delegation, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Railways and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, recently attended the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) in Singapore.

“A country with more than 1.4 billion people is now embarking on a major upgrade of its aviation sector. This is a once in a two, three-decade opportunity, and it’s good that we are, in a sense, in the front seat and have a chance (to collaborate),” said Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan after the meeting.

During the multi-ministerial meeting, the two countries covered how to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as digital technology, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity, and manufacturing.

“Glad that progress has been made on several fronts since our last meeting. And new ideas for cooperation are being pursued, including in advanced manufacturing and connectivity. These initiatives will pave the way for closer strategic cooperation and partnership between India and Singapore,” said Singapore PM Lawrence Wong after meeting the Indian ministers on Monday.

In 2023-24, bilateral trade between India and Singapore was $35.61 billion, making Singapore India’s sixth largest global trade partner. 

PM Modi will be visiting Singapore after a visit to Brunei on September 3-4. PM Modi’s visit to Brunei will be the “first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian PM to Brunei and will coincide with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Brunei,” says Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

“These visits will further strengthen India’s cooperation with Brunei and Singapore both bilaterally and within the regional and multilateral frameworks,” said the Ministry of External Affairs.