Excellency,
I deeply appreciate your warm welcome.
This is our first meeting since you assumed the office as Prime Minister. My heartiest congratulations and best wishes to you. I am confident that under the leadership of 4G, Singapore will achieve progress even more rapidly.
Excellency,
Singapore is not merely a partner country; it serves as an inspiration for every developing nation. We also aim to create multiple ‘Singapore’ within India. I am pleased that we are collaborating towards this goal. The ministerial roundtable we have established is a path-breaking mechanism.
Collaborative initiatives have been identified in areas such as skilling, digitalisation, mobility, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and AI, healthcare, sustainability and cybersecurity.
Excellency,
Singapore is also an important facilitator of our Act East policy. Our shared belief in democratic values connects us with each other. I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit Singapore at the beginning of my third term.
Our strategic partnership is completing a decade. Over the past ten years, our trade has more than doubled. Mutual investment has increased almost threefold to cross $150 billion. Singapore was the first country with which we launched the UPI Person-to-Person payment facility.
In the past ten years, 17 satellites of Singapore have been launched from Indian soil. Our cooperation has gained momentum from skilling to defence sector. The agreement between Singapore Airlines and Air India has strengthened connectivity.
I am pleased that today, we are together elevating our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Excellency, the 3.5 lakh people of Indian origin residing in Singapore are the strong foundation of our relationship. We are forever thankful to the entire Singapore for the place and honour that Subhash Chandra Bose, Azad Hind Fauj and Little India have received in Singapore.
In 2025, our relationship will celebrate its 60th anniversary. To mark this occasion with grandeur, both countries should collaborate on creating an action plan.
I am delighted to inform you that India’s first Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre will soon be inaugurated in Singapore. The great saint Thiruvalluvar provided guiding thoughts to the world in the most ancient language Tamil. His work, the Thirukkural, was composed nearly 2,000 years ago, yet its ideas remain relevant today. He has said:
Nayanodu Nanri Purind Payanudaiyar Panbu Paratattum Ulagu.
This means: "The world admires those who are known for their sense of justice and service to others."
I am confident that millions of Indians living in Singapore are also inspired by these ideas and are contributing to strengthening the relations between the two countries.
Excellency,
I presented India's Indo-Pacific vision in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue. We will continue to work with Singapore to promote regional peace, stability, and prosperity. Once again, my heartfelt thanks for the honour and the warm hospitality extended to me.
