India-Singapore to ink five pacts during PM Wong's visit

New Delhi: Five agreements providing for boosting ties in sectors such as shipping, civil aviation and space will be inked between India and Singapore during Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's three-day trip to New Delhi beginning Tuesday.

Authoritative sources said the overall focus of Wong's first visit to India as prime minister will be to further explore ways to expand two-way economic engagement based on the foundational complementarities between the two sides.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Wong are set to virtually inaugurate a container terminal in Maharashtra on Thursday. The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA International) has invested over USD one billion in the project.

The two leaders are expected to dedicate the port project after their wide-ranging talks.

Singapore is a key source of investment in India with its cumulative investment since 2014 reaching a whopping USD 175 billion that included USD 60 billion in the post-Covid period, according to official data.

"Singapore is an important partner for India, including in our 'Act East' Policy," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday, announcing Wong's trip.

It said Wong's visit, which coincides with the 60th anniversary of India-Singapore diplomatic relations, "reaffirms" the continued commitment of the two countries to further strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership.

"The visit will provide an opportunity for both prime ministers to review our robust and multi-faceted cooperation and to set the path for future collaboration," it said.

The MEA said the two prime ministers will also engage on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Wong will be accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation, including cabinet ministers and senior officials.

PM Wong will also call on President Droupadi Murmu.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and a number of other Union ministers are scheduled to call on PM Wong.

India-Singapore relations were elevated to comprehensive strategic partnership during PM Modi's visit to that country in September last year.

The two sides are looking at the possibility of exporting solar energy from India to Singapore via an underwater cable which could also be used for data connectivity, the sources said.

A feasibility study carried out on the proposed project indicated some challenge for laying of the cable in view of the Andaman Trench.

As part of the proposal for data connectivity, the two sides have created a financial data regulatory "sandbox" at Gift City in Gujarat, the sources said.

Export of green ammonia and green hydrogen from India to Singapore is another proposal that the two sides are looking at.

Ahead of Wong's visit, the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), made the preparations for the trip. ISMR took place in New Delhi on August 13.

Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held the ISMR talks 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.