India, Singapore ministers focus on emerging, futuristic areas at roundtable

Top Indian ministers met their Singaporean counterparts in Singapore on Monday for talks focusing on ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in emerging and futuristic areas at the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR).

The leaders deliberated upon the six pillars identified under ISMR: digitalization, skill development, sustainability, healthcare and medicine, advanced manufacturing, and connectivity.

Plans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of India-Singapore diplomatic ties next year, along with discussions on ASEAN and G20 cooperation, featured during the talks. Diplomatic relations between India and Singapore were officially established in August 1965.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman led the Indian delegation that included external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, commerce minister Piyush Goyal, and electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The Singaporean delegation was led by Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s deputy prime minister and minister for trade and industry, and included Vivian Balakrishnan, minister for foreign affairs, K. Shanmugam, minister for home affairs and minister for law, Tan See Leng, minister for manpower and second minister for trade and industry, Chee Hong Tat, minister for transport and second mnister for finance; and Josephine Teo, minister for digital development and information and second minister for home affairs

The leaders noted that discussions in the first round of ISMR have led to the successful conclusion of several memorandum of understandings (MoUs) on healthcare, education and skill development, digital cooperation, and semiconductor ecosystem cooperation. The inaugural meeting of ISMR was held in New Delhi in September 2022.

Earlier in the day, Sitharaman led the four-minister contingent to meet with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

During the talks, Sitharaman “expressed her appreciation to President Shanmugaratnam for his advocacy of multilateralism and his significant contributions to developing comprehensive reforms aimed at addressing 21st-century challenges.”

She also thanked Shanmugaratnam “for his valuable contributions as a member of the G20 expert group on strengthening multilateral development banks during India’s presidency of the G20 in 2023, the ministry of finance posted on X.

“Honored to jointly call on President @Tharman_S of Singapore. Conveyed the warm greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister @narendramodi. Value his guidance on ways to further take forward the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.

Honored to jointly call on President @Tharman_S of Singapore. Conveyed the warm greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister @narendramodi.

Value his guidance on ways to further take forward the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership.

🇮🇳 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/apeTA4j9nE

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 26, 2024

Shanmugaratnam was elected Singapore’s President in September last year.

Meanwhile, Sitharaman also met with T. Raja Kumar, the former president of Paris-based global financial watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The FATF screens cross-border transactions globally and sets guardrails to specifically halt money laundering and terror funding. It uses its ‘grey list’ to warn the global financial and banking system about countries posing increased risks.

The minister congratulated Kumar on the successful completion of his tenure as president of the FATF, commending his “fair leadership during the discussions and adoption of India’s Mutual Evaluation Report.”

They also discussed the future of FATF and India’s role within the organization.

Kumar had begun his two-year term at FATF helm on 1 July 2022, before demitting office on 30 June this year. Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico succeeded Kumar from 1 July this year

In fiscal 2024, Singapore emerged as the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), with an estimated $11.77 billion in inflows.

The city-state was India’s sixth largest global trade partner in 2023-24 with trade totaling $35.61 billion.

Earlier on Sunday, trade minister Goyal discussed bilateral trade and investment issues with representatives of global business entities in Singapore, including from Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek Holdings, DBS Bank, Canada’s OMERS, Singaporean conglomerate Keppal Infrastructure.

“Wrapped up a very fruitful day in Singapore today, with interactions and discussions with leaders of major global investment firms having over $500 billion of assets under management. Positioned India as an attractive investment destination and invited these multinationals to be a part of our development journey,” Goyal said in a post on X.

Wrapped up a very fruitful day in Singapore today, with interactions and discussions with leaders of major global investment firms having over US$ 500 billion of assets under management.

Positioned India as an attractive investment destination and invited these multinationals…

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 25, 2024

Topics broached on during the meetings included exploring investment opportunities in India, leveraging the country’s economic growth, and fostering collaboration across various sectors.

These discussions emphasized scaling up investments, particularly in the small and medium business sectors, enhancing India’s investment climate, supporting sustainable development through decarbonisation, and identifying synergies for family-owned businesses in a changing global landscape.

Goyal also visited the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) headquarters and ITE College Central in Singapore to explore opportunities for collaboration between India and Singapore in developing cutting-edge learning environments.