• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Singapore for the 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable.
• The roundtable aims to strengthen India-Singapore bilateral relations and explore new avenues of cooperation.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has been engaging with global investment firms, positioning India as an attractive investment destination.
• The roundtable is a significant step towards enhancing the strategic partnership between India and Singapore, focusing on investment opportunities, sustainable development, and digital cooperation.

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Singapore on Sunday to participate in the 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable. The roundtable, scheduled for Monday, is a unique mechanism established to set a new agenda for India-Singapore bilateral relations.

The inaugural meeting was held in New Delhi in September 2022, and this second meeting is expected to review various aspects of the Strategic Partnership between the two nations and identify new avenues to further elevate and broaden it.

Sitharaman was welcomed at the Changi International Airport by Singapore's High Commissioner to India Simon Wong and India's Deputy High Commissioner Pooja Tillu. She will be joined by three more senior colleagues, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

During their visit, the Indian ministers will interact with their Singaporean counterparts and will also call on Singaporean leadership. The roundtable is a testament to the growing importance of the bilateral relationship between India and Singapore, which has seen significant growth in recent years.

India-Singapore: A Growing Economic Partnership

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is already in the southeast Asian country, has been actively engaging with leaders of major global investment firms. He has positioned India as an attractive investment destination and invited these multinationals to be a part of India's development journey. Goyal's interactions with leaders of firms like Temasek, DBS Bank, and Keppel Infrastructure have focused on leveraging India's economic growth, enhancing investment opportunities across various sectors, and promoting sustainable development through decarbonization.

Goyal's meeting with Ms. Cindy Lim, CEO of Infrastructure at global asset manager and operator, Keppel, was particularly noteworthy. They discussed the company's investment plans in India to support sustainable development through decarbonisation and help accelerate India's target of achieving net zero carbon emissions. He also met Ashish Goyal, Executive Vice President and Head, Asia Pacific of pension fund, OMERS, and discussed their current and future investment strategies for India and ways to further strengthen India's investment-friendly climate.

Singapore has been a major source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for India. In 2023-24, it was the largest contributor with an estimated $11.77 billion in inflows. The cumulative inflow of FDI from Singapore from April 2000 to March 2024 is around $159.94 billion. In terms of bilateral trade, Singapore was the 6th largest global trade partner of India in 2023-24 with a total trade of $35.61 billion, which accounts for approximately 29 per cent of India's total trade with ASEAN. However, the trade gap is in the favour of Singapore, with India's exports standing at $14.41 billion, while imports were $21.2 billion.

Anticipating Future Collaborations

The roundtable comes ahead of the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Singapore. The two sides have finalised about half a dozen memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in areas such as digital cooperation, food safety and skill development. The cross-border real-time linking of India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore's PayNow in February 2023 was one of the first outcomes of cooperation under the digitalisation pillar of the roundtable and the two sides are currently up to about 3,000 transactions a month.

The India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable is a significant event in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries. It is reminiscent of similar high-level engagements in the past that have helped to strengthen the strategic partnership. The roundtable provides an opportunity for both sides to discuss and explore new avenues of cooperation, reflecting mutual growth and strategic collaboration. The presence of four Union ministers from India underscores the importance that India attaches to its relationship with Singapore.

The 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable is a significant since the presence of senior ministers from India and their interactions with their Singaporean counterparts is expected to further enhance the strategic partnership and open up new avenues for cooperation.

The focus on investment opportunities, sustainable development, and digital cooperation reflects the shared vision and mutual growth aspirations of both countries. This event is a testament to the growing importance of the India-Singapore relationship and the shared commitment to further strengthening this vital partnership.