Singapore hosts the 2nd India- Singapore Ministerial Roundtable(ISMR)

In a continuous effort to broaden and deepen their strategic ties, the 2nd India- Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISRM) meeting was held in Singapore on 26 August 2024. The first India- Singapore Ministerial Roundtable was held in New Delhi on 17 September 2022, in which four senior Singapore Ministers participated. 

The ISMR is a high-level platform that provides a mechanism for both countries to discuss the entire gamut of relationships and set future agendas for bilateral relationships. 

Participants of the 2nd ISMR

Four senior ministers from India and six from Singapore participated in the 2nd ISMR.

India was represented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Railways, Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The Singapore delegation was led by Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry. It also included Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs; K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Law; Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs; Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, and Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance.

Agenda of the 2nd ISMR 

The 2nd ISMR focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation across various sectors. It reviewed the progress made since the first meeting in New Delhi. 

The first ISMR held in New Delhi in 2022 focused on digital connectivity, Fintech, the Green Economy, Green Hydrogen, Skill Development, and Food Security. It led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two sides on healthcare, education, skill development, digital cooperation, and semiconductor ecosystem cooperation.

At the 2nd ISMR, India and Singapore discussed increasing cooperation on the six pillars identified under the ISMR: digitalisation, skill development, sustainability, healthcare and medicine, and advanced manufacturing and connectivity.

India Singapore Economic  Ties 

Singapore was India's largest foreign direct investment (FDI) source in fiscal year 2023-24, with USD 11.77 billion in FDI. 

Singapore was India’s sixth-largest trade partner in 2023-24, with bilateral trade of  USD 35.61 billion.

Singapore is the largest trading partner of India amongst the ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

However, the trade was in favour of Singapore, with India exporting goods worth USD 14.41 billion and importing USD 21.2 billion, thus India having a trade deficit of USD 6.79 billion. 

About Singapore 

Singapore is one of the smallest countries and is often considered a city-state. It is part of Southeast Asia.

The Singapore population is diverse. The ethnic Chinese are the largest ethnic group, followed by the Malay population and Indian as the third largest group.

President : Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Prime Minister: Lawrence Wong 

Capital:  Singapore

Currency: Singapore dollar