PM Wong makes 3-day introductory visit to India to mark 60 years of ties

[SINGAPORE] Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will make an official visit to India from Tuesday (Sep 2) to Thursday, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The three-day trip marks PM Wong’s first official visit to India and commemorates six decades of diplomatic relations between both nations, said the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement.

In New Delhi, PM Wong will hold meetings with Indian President Droupadi Murmu and PM Modi, who will host a banquet lunch in his honour.

The prime minister is scheduled for separate meetings with key Indian ministers, including Health and Family Welfare Minister and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

PM Wong will also visit the Raj Ghat memorial to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

The visit includes engagements with overseas Singaporeans to mark both nations’ diamond jubilee diplomatic ties and Singapore’s 60th independence anniversary. He will also participate in a closed-door roundtable with Indian business leaders.

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Accompanying PM Wong are Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang, officials from various government agencies.

Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam will serve as Acting Prime Minister during Wong’s absence.

Strong ties

The two nations elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during PM Modi’s official visit to Singapore in September 2024.

Singapore and India’s relations remain deep. Economic ties are underpinned by the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), signed in 2005.

Annual bilateral trade grew to S$52.2 billion in 2023, more than doubling from S$20 billion when CECA took effect.

Singapore has emerged as India’s largest foreign investor, accounting for about 24 per cent of India’s foreign direct investment equity flows since 2000.

Meanwhile, Indian investment in Singapore has expanded to S$31.6 billion in 2023, up from S$481 million in 2004.

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