MFA Press Statement: Official Visit of Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi to Singapore, 23 to 24 November 2015

            Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, who is on an official visit to Singapore, received a ceremonial welcome at the Istana this morning.  He called on President Tony Tan Keng Yam and had meetings with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.  Prime Minister Lee also hosted an official lunch in honour of Prime Minister Modi.  During the meetings, the leaders reaffirmed the excellent and long-standing ties between the two countries. 

            President Tan and Prime Minister Modi noted the strong cultural and people-to-people relations between Singapore and India, while Emeritus Senior Minister Goh and Prime Minister Modi discussed ways to enhance connectivity between the two countries through air services liberalisation.  In their meeting, Prime Minister Lee and Prime Minister Modi reviewed the state of bilateral relations and exchanged views on deepening cooperation in a range of areas such as defence, skills development and smart cities.  The two Prime Ministers also agreed to further expand cooperation in finance and investment, and welcomed the suggestion to explore the issuance of rupee denominated bonds in Singapore.   

            To mark the historic occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Prime Minister Lee and Prime Minister Modi signed a Joint Declaration elevating our bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership.  The text of the Joint Declaration is at Annex A.  The two Prime Ministers also witnessed the exchange and signing of nine Memoranda of Understanding and agreements on defence, aviation, culture, urban governance, security and capacity building.  The list of agreements is at Annex B.  They also unveiled a commemorative joint stamp issue depicting the Istana and Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

            Prime Minister Modi, accompanied by Prime Minister Lee, toured ITE College Central to learn about Singapore’s vocational education system.  Students from ITE interacted with the Prime Ministers and shared their learning experiences. 

            Prime Minister Modi also delivered a Special Address at the India-Singapore Economic Convention hosted by Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran at Marina Bay Sands, and met with Singapore business leaders.

            Prime Minister Modi will depart Singapore for India later tonight.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

24 NOVEMBER 2015

ANNEX A

JOINT DECLARATION BY

THE PRIME MINISTERS OF

THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA

AND

THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

ON A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

(Singapore; 24 November 2015)

The Republic of India and the Republic of Singapore:

Celebrating fifty years of bilateral relations.

Acknowledging their shared history, long tradition of friendship based on trust and mutual respect, and extensive cooperation across a wide range of areas.

Desiring to elevate their long-standing and multi-faceted cooperation to a higher plane with focus on key areas for the prosperity of both countries and regions.

Resolving to maximise the economic potential of both countries to reflect the on-going transformation of their economies in the global economic order.

Recognising the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), signed in 2005, which remains the bedrock of their economic partnership.

Emphasising the value of the Agreement on the Establishment of the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) for Bilateral Cooperation, signed in 2007, which has enhanced their political relationship.

Recalling the five focal areas of cooperation identified in August 2014 by their respective Foreign Ministers.

Believing that their common interests lie in promoting peaceful cooperation among nations, as well as sustainable economic growth and development.

Committed to a peaceful Asia-Pacific region as an essential foundation for regional growth and development.

Building on their constructive collaboration in international and regional fora.

Recognising that both countries are gateways to their respective regions and taking into account India’s growing engagement of Southeast and East Asia through her “Act East” policy.

Hereby declare as follows:

1.      India and Singapore have decided to elevate bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership. The Strategic Partnership is a framework to contribute to greater regional stability and growth, deepen existing areas of cooperation and catalyse new ones including in the following:

a.       Political Exchanges. India and Singapore are committed to sustaining the good momentum of high-level visits. Both countries will continue regular political consultations between the Foreign Ministries through the JMC and the Foreign Office Consultations.

b.       Defence and Security Cooperation. India and Singapore will expand military and defence cooperation in areas of mutual benefit, and explore the possibility of further collaboration in defence technology, and co-development and co-production between their defence industries. Both countries will encourage regular consultations between the Defence Ministries through the Defence Ministers’ Dialogue and the Defence Policy Dialogue. India and Singapore will explore expanding cooperation in maritime security and cyber security as well as in combating terrorism.

c.        Scaling Up of Trade and Investment. India and Singapore recognise business and commercial links as key drivers of the India-Singapore partnership. Singapore will encourage its companies to explore commercial opportunities in India as a gateway to South Asia, while India will encourage its companies to consider Singapore as a gateway to Southeast Asia and East Asia. Both countries recognise the enormous potential for further development of trade and investment ties. In this regard, both countries will aspire to double bilateral trade volume over the next two decades.

d.       Strengthening Air Transport and Maritime Cooperation. India and Singapore are committed to expanding new and existing commercially-viable air links between and beyond both countries. Both countries will expand cooperation in the aviation and maritime sectors, including in capacity building and the sharing of best practices.

e.        Smart City Development and Urban Rejuvenation. Both countries are committed to cooperation in the areas of urban planning, governance and management, and in smart cities through expanding knowledge sharing and capacity building. Both countries will discuss potential collaboration, including through investment and smart city development.

f.         Skills Development and Capacity Building. India and Singapore are committed to cooperation in skills development through expanding knowledge sharing and capacity building.

g.       State Focus to Strengthen Business and Cultural Links. To enhance bilateral engagement at the state level, India and Singapore agree to promote and facilitate the exchange of visits by trade delegations, high-level participation at selected economic summits and exchange of best practices in various fields with Indian states.

h.       Culture and People-to-People Exchanges. Both countries recognise the importance of culture for promoting mutual understanding among their peoples and to deepen the rich historical links between the two nations. Both countries will continue to promote exchanges of artists, art groups, exhibitions, arts and heritage professionals, and sharing of archival knowledge.

i.         Higher Education Institutions. India and Singapore agree to continue promoting contact and cooperation between their higher education institutions, as well as encourage the exchange of students and academics as part of their overall objective of strengthening people-to-people contacts.

j.         Cooperation in Public Administration. Both India and Singapore will build on existing platforms for deepening cooperation in public administration, including in capacity building and sharing of best practices.

k.       Cooperation in Science & Technology, and Research and Innovation. Both India and Singapore have an interest in furthering cooperation in the areas of research and development, and can explore joint workshops, which will serve as platforms for researchers from both countries to interact. India and Singapore agree to further explore opportunities for cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

l.         Legal and Judicial Cooperation. India and Singapore have a shared interest in strengthening mutual understanding of each other’s laws and legal systems, and in existing areas of cooperation between the two countries. Both sides agree to also work towards enhancing effective legal and judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.

m.    Financial Cooperation. Building on the extensive bilateral economic and trade linkages, India and Singapore agree to explore possibilities to enhance financial cooperation to facilitate financing and investment to support economic growth and infrastructure building in India and enhance financial resilience.

n.       Parliamentary Cooperation. India and Singapore desire to enhance interaction and exchanges between parliamentarians for the purpose of greater mutual understanding.

o.       Cooperation in Multilateral and Regional Fora. India and Singapore are committed to a peaceful Asia-Pacific region as an essential foundation for regional growth and development, and share a desire for international and regional peace and stability. In this regard, India and Singapore will remain committed to continuing their constructive collaboration in regional and international fora, including the United Nations (UN) system, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its associated processes. The two countries will also cooperate in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.

1. To this end, India and Singapore will work closely to implement the Strategic Partnership beginning with the Joint Statement issued on 24 November 2015 on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore from 23 to 24 November 2015. Both countries will have regular meetings to monitor and implement the Strategic Partnership through the JMC.

24 November 2015

Singapore

ANNEX B

LIST OF MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING AND AGREEMENTS SIGNED/EXCHANGED AT THE ISTANA ON
24 NOVEMBER 2015