During PM Modi’s visit, India and Singapore signed four major MoUs, related to digital technologies, semiconductors, health cooperation, and skill development.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently on a visit to Singapore, to meet his counterpart Lawrence Wong and hold bilateral meetings. As part of their talks, India and Singapore, on Wednesday, inked key Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), and they include digital technologies, semiconductors, health cooperation, and skill development. Together, the two nations aim to strengthen their cooperation and work towards a collaborative betterment.
During his opening remarks, Modi termed Singapore an inspiration for every developing country. "The leaders agreed to elevate the - ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They extensively reviewed various facets of the bilateral relationship covering areas of Advanced Manufacturing, Connectivity, Digitalisation, Healthcare & Medicine, Skills Development and Sustainability," PM Modi said as he thanked Wong for the warm welcome.
However, do you know that Singapore is not only a partner nation for India, but has been India’s top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) since 2018? Singapore’s cumulative inflow into India contributes to 24 percent of India’s total FDI inflow, and since April 2000, the amount stands at $159.94 billion so far.
To say the least, Singapore is also New Delhi’s largest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As per a report in Economic Times and the data quoted from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the FDI from Singapore in India has increased 47.8 per cent year on year to $16.17 billion in April-June this fiscal. While Singapore’s FDI is the highest this quarter with $3.9 billion in FDI, the island nation is followed by Mauritius with FDI of $3.2 billion. Interestingly, in the previous financial year, India received $11.77 billion of FDI from Singapore.
Around 440 companies from Singapore are registered in India, and the nation’s major boards, including Enterprise Singapore (ES), Economic Development Board (EDB) and Singapore Tourism Board, have offices in India. For India too, Singapore certainly remains a key area to invest further in South-East Asia.
The first MoU is inked between India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Singapore's Ministry of Digital Development and Information with an aim that the two nations would cooperate in digital technologies, including DPI, cyber-security, and 5G. Another MoU has been signed between India and Singapore with a target to cooperate in developing a semiconductor cluster since Singapore is part of the worldwide semiconductor supply chain.
Another MoU was signed in the field of health and medicine amid New Delhi's efforts to promote Indian healthcare professionals in Singapore. The last one is in the field of educational cooperation and skills development to promote cooperation in the areas of technical and vocational education and training.
.webp)
