On India visit, Singapore PM Lawrence Wong to deepen trade, investment

NEW new delhi: capital of singapore undercoat government minister laurentius Wong’s maiden visit to New Delhi this week is expected to signal continued confidence in the Indian economy amid global headwinds, with the two sides finalising agreements and other measures to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, aviation, green energy and digitalisation.Wong would be accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan and senior minister of state for finance Jeffrey Siow on the three-day visit. He would hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Wong will also interact with Indian business leaders on Wednesday, the external affairs ministry said.The two sides are expected to sign five agreements for cooperation in civil aviation, space, shipping, finance and digital innovation, and skill development, while a joint statement to be adopted during the visit will unveil a roadmap for future collaboration under key pillars such as economy, defence and security, digitalisation and connectivity, people familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity.The two PMs will also virtually inaugurate the PSA Mumbai terminal at Nhava Sheva Port, in which Singapore’s PSA International has invested $1.3 billion, the people said.The overall thrust of Wong’s visit will be to deepen economic engagement and explore ways to ramp up future-oriented collaboration in investment, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, digitalisation and space to tackle current challenges and secure long-term resilience, the people said.Two-way trade has grown by about 2.5 times from $15.5 billion in 2005, when the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) came into force, to $40 billion in 2023. Singapore is India’s top foreign investor, accounting for almost 24% of FDI equity inflows since 2000, and cumulative investments between 2014 and 2024 were worth $159 billion.Despite the uncertainty created by the trade policies of the Trump administration in the US, including 50% tariffs on Indian exports, the people said, Singaporean investors remained bullish on the Indian economy. They noted that many Singaporean investors have had a presence in India for the past 25 to 30 years and are optimistic about prospects for growth.“There may be some worry for first-time investors, but for experienced and long-term investors, the plan on India remains unchanged,” one of the people said, adding that Singapore is on course to invest up to $15 billion in India this year.Wong’s visit is a follow-up to the meeting last month of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) – a special mechanism led by the ministers of foreign affairs, finance and trade of the two sides focused on enhancing economic cooperation – and the two PMs are expected to green-light several proposals drawn up at the roundtable, the people said.These proposals include the development and export of green energy from India to Singapore, collaboration on data storage and AI hubs, and joint development of small modular reactors (SMRs) to generate power, the people said.One of Singapore’s major renewables players, Sembcorp, is engaged in developing green energy projects near ports in Odisha and Maharashtra, they said.With Singapore exploring the possibility of building SMRs on a floating platform, the people said there is scope for joint research and development with India on miniaturised nuclear reactors.The external affairs ministry described Singapore as an important partner for India under the “Act East” policy, and said Wong’s visit “reaffirms the continued commitment of both countries to further strengthen this partnership”.