New Delhi: India and Singapore are looking at finalising nearly 10 memorandums of understanding in areas such as advanced technology, connectivity, skilling and digitisation during a meeting of their top ministers this week, people familiar with the matter said.
The two sides are also in the process of finalising an ambitious proposal to lay an undersea cable to carry solar energy from India to Singapore that will also provide data connectivity, they said.
Export of green ammonia and green hydrogen from India to Singapore is another proposal that the two sides are looking at as part of an overall approach to further expand the bilateral ties.
The new initiatives are being firmed up ahead of Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s likely visit to India next month, the people said.
The third meeting of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), scheduled for August 13 in New Delhi, will make preparations for Wong’s visit, they said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will hold the talks under the ISMR framework with six Singaporean ministers.
India-Singapore relations were elevated to comprehensive strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the 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 people cited above said.
A feasibility study carried out on the proposed project indicated some challenges in laying 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 people said.
The two sides are also expected to deliberate on pacts that will focus on collaboration in skill development in areas such as aviation, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.
The ISMR may also deliberate on the impact of Washington’s tariff policy and ways to navigate it.
Both sides are working on a plan with an aim to impart skill development training to around 1,00,000 Indians a year, the people said.
It is learnt that the ISMR will also explore ways to increase investments by Singaporean companies in India.
The inaugural ISMR took place September 17, 2022, in New Delhi. Four senior Singaporean ministers travelled to India for the meeting. The second ISMR was held in Singapore August 26 last year.
Boosting overall trade between the two countries is likely to be one of the focus areas of the upcoming ISMR.
Singapore is India’s largest trading partner in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). It is the leading source of FDI, among the largest sources of external commercial borrowings and foreign portfolio investment.
Singapore was India’s sixth-largest trading partner in the financial year 2024-25. India’s imports from Singapore in 2024-25 were USD 21.2 billion, while the volume of exports to the country was USD 14.4 billion.
Over the past 10 years, Singapore’s annual investments in India ranged between USD 10 billion and USD 15 billion.
PTI
