India today sought investments from Singapore in its infrastructure and connectivity projects along the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai and Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridors as well as in the North Eastern region.
Kicking off an year-long celebration to mark 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties jointly with her Singaporean counterpart K Shanmugam, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the occasion will be used to advance economic engagement, defence and security cooperation between the two countries.
Noting that Singapore is not only India's largest trading partner in ASEAN, but also one of the largest source of foreign investment globally, Swaraj said the two countries can achieve anything if they open their imagination.
On his part Shanmugam, appreciated role of India which was one of the first countries to diplomatically recognise Singapore. He also observed the significant contribution made by the Indian diaspora in Singapore's economy and culture.
After reading out her prepared speech in English, Swaraj broke into Hindi, taking audience by surprise who responded the Minister's gesture with a huge round of applause.
During her Hindi remarks, the Minister said that there are a lot of expectations from the new government in India which has come into power with a huge majority after a long gap and assured them that they will try to fulfil the same.
Ahead of the inauguration of the celebration, Swaraj also interected with the Indian diaspora, present in huge numbers at the event to greet her.
"The commemoration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries is not just a celebration of what we have achieved so far, but also an opportunity to push the envelope to find and develop new areas to deepen our engagement," Swaraj said in her address.
Seeking enhanced investment from Singapore, she said both the countries should also look at scope of venture capital for innovations and for cooperative projects in third countries.
"We look forward to Singapore companies to speed up connectivity and infrastructure projects in India, particularly, along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor and the North-East. Singapore could develop a virtual city or a 'little Singapore' somewhere along the corridor," she said.
