India & Singapore to boost ties in key areas, from healthcare to tech

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable with six Singaporean ministers.

The Singaporean delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and it comprised National Security and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng and Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow.

At the third ISMR, the two sides are also understood to have deliberated on an ambitious proposal to lay an undersea cable to carry solar energy from India to Singapore that will also provide data connectivity.

Jaishankar described the roundtable as “productive” and said “The ISMR had a productive interaction with the India Singapore Business Roundtable #ISBR delegation. Synergy between Government and Industry is key to unlocking the next phase of India-Singapore ties.”

An Indian statement said the two sides reviewed the progress of various bilateral cooperation initiatives under the six pillars of the ISMR — advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalisation, healthcare and medicine, skills development and sustainability.

“They deliberated on ways to further deepen bilateral cooperation, particularly under these six pillars, and identified a number of specific initiatives to pursue,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It said India views Singapore as an important partner in its “Act East” policy. The inaugural ISMR was held in New Delhi in September 2022 and the second meeting was held in Singapore in August 2024.

“Productive discussions during the 3rd ISMR highlight the mutual commitment of the two countries towards further strengthening bilateral cooperation,” the MEA said.

After the ISMR, the visiting Singaporean ministers also called on President Droupadi Murmu.On the Singaporean ministerial delegation calling on Murmu, the MEA said the president noted that even in an uncertain global environment, the India-Singapore comprehensive strategic partnership is flourishing.