PM Modi’s Brunei, Singapore visit: Strengthening bilateral ties, new partnership avenues in focus

PM Modi’s Brunei and Singapore trip: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a two-day visit to Brunei Darussalam and Singapore from September 3-5. The prime minister is expected to discuss the existing trade relations as well as explore new avenues of partnership between India and Brunei and Singapore.

In his departure statement, PM Modi said Brunei and India are celebrating 40 years of their diplomatic relations. He would meet His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other members of the royal family in Brunei.

From Brunei he will travel to Singapore on September 4, and meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, as well as leaders of Singapore’s business community. PM Modi said India is looking to deepen its strategic partnership with Singapore in new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing, digitalization, and sustainable development.

PM MODI’S TRIP TO BRUNEI, SINGAPORE

According to the Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East), Jaideep Mazumdar, India and Brunei are working on setting up a ‘joint working group in defence’. The MEA said that PM Modi’s visit to Brunei, an important partner in India’s ‘Act East Policy’ is expected to strengthen cooperation in all existing sectors, including defence cooperation, trade and investment, energy, space technology, health cooperation, capacity building, culture as well as people-to-people exchanges and explore avenues for cooperation in newer sectors.

He will be visiting Singapore after nearly six years. Mazumdar said India-Singapore aim to move to the next stage of their bilateral relations. "Our trade and investment flows have shown a steady growth, we have robust defence cooperation and growing exchanges in culture and education. We have identified new anchors of our partnership under the India-Singapore ministerial roundtable framework," he said.

Both India and Singapore have already identified new “thrust areas” for cooperation in the future. Mazumdar said a number of MoUs are expected to be exchanged between India and Singapore in a number of forward-looking futuristic areas of cooperation in digitisation, sustainability skill, health, advance manufacturing and connectivity.

According to the MEA official, India-Singapore’s cooperation in the field of semiconductor is also in the agenda.

"The visit will also take place in light of our 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations which we are celebrating in 2025, and the tenth year of our strategic partnership with Singapore," he added.