Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam will be visiting India from February 8 to 11, to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
This will the first presidential visit from Singapore since 2003. Ever since the National Democratic Alliance government came to power in May last year, it has been engaging with Singapore on a regular basis to strengthen trade and business ties. Singapore was one of first countries to have come forward in partnering with India for the smart cities project. “During discussions that our leadership has had with Singapore, we have focused on two or three elements. One is utilising Singapore’s skills for skill development in India. Another area of interest has been the smart cities,” said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson, ministry of external affairs, on Thursday.
There have been efforts by various chief ministers to work with Singapore on urban development. These will continue to be the major focus of interaction with Singapore,” said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, on Thursday.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Singapore in August last year followed by a series of visits by the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, West Bengal and Rajasthan. Besides, the minister for urban development had also visited Singapore last year.
Singapore, too, has sent several high-level officials to India. Their foreign minister, deputy prime minister and the emeritus senior minister had visited India last year.
Singapore is India’s largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) region. Bilateral trade between both countries reached $12.51 billion in 2013-2014.
It is also the second largest foreign investment contributor to India accounting for 12 per cent of the country’s total foreign direct investment (FDI). During 2000-2014 FDI from Singapore reached $30 billion.
First visit of new Sri Lanka president
The newly elected President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, will also be visiting India from February 15 to 18. This will also be his first visit since his coming to power.
“President Sirisena had a talk with the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and had indicated his desire to undertake an early visit to India. The path for this visit was paved during visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Sri Lankan counterpart in January,” Akbaruddin said.
He might also visit Bodhgaya and Tirupati during the four-day visit.
