India, Singapore ministers discuss deeper tie-ups in digitalisation, skills, industrial parks

Straits Times

4 days ago

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– India and Singapore explored deepening their engagement on digitalisation, skills building and industrial parks at a meeting of a key bilateral platform on Aug 13, during Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong's visit to the South Asian state.
DPM Gan led a six-member Singapore delegation at the third edition of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), which aims to boost collaboration between the two nations in emerging fields.
According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press statement, the two sides reaffirmed the close and longstanding relationship between Singapore and India, underpinned by strong economic and people-to-people ties.
They reviewed the good progress since the last meeting in Singapore in 2024, and expressed support for deeper cooperation in a wide range of areas that included sustainability, healthcare and medicine, advanced manufacturing, and connectivity.
The ministers also discussed collaboration on cross-border data flows and capital markets via the use of regulatory sandboxes, as well as cooperation on skills training in semiconductors, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and India's national centres of excellence.
The other members of the delegation from Singapore were Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower and Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Tan See Leng, and Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow.
The Indian side was represented by Indian Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Railways, and Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The visit by Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, comes ahead of Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's visit to India in early September as the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Mr Wong launched the inaugural version of the ISMR during a visit to India in September 2022, when he was deputy prime minister.
The second ISMR meeting was held in Singapore in August 2024, ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Republic.
India and Singapore are further expanding cooperation at a time of global economic uncertainty brought about by the US' so-called reciprocal tariffs.
India, the world's fourth-largest economy, has been on the receiving end of US President Donald Trump's unpredictable levies, which have left many businesses facing a potential 50 per cent tariff.
All this has added new urgency for India to expand on existing economic ties with friendly countries like Singapore, noted analysts.
'The external world is changing so much. The Trump effect is beginning to unfold. Singapore has got 10 per cent and India is in a different place, but the need for regional engagement is increasing to limit some of the damage, even for Singapore,' said Professor C. Raja Mohan, visiting research professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies.
'At the last roundtable, new ideas had come forward for cooperation in semiconductors and advanced manufacturing. India and Singapore can work together to manage the consequences (of the Trump tariffs on the global economy).'
Under the ISMR, the two countries have been working on newer areas of cooperation like semiconductors and green energy while expanding in older areas of cooperation like skills training, where Singapore has helped India set up institutes.
A key emerging area of cooperation is in the semiconductor space, where India's bid to boost local manufacturing has opened up opportunities for Singaporean companies, which are looking to new markets.
In 2024 , during Mr Modi's visit, Singapore and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on semiconductors that would help to facilitate the entry of Singapore companies.
This has helped Singapore firms like Cleantech Services, which provides gas and chemical supply equipment and systems used in chip manufacturing, to expand operations in India.
Mr Mujeeb Mundayil, managing director of Singapore start-up Cleantech Services, said that the high-level discussion provided a platform between the two countries 'to share feedback and work on solutions to on-the-ground challenges'.
He said: 'Such cooperation (between India and Singapore) will not only strengthen supply chains, but also accelerate the growth of the Indian semiconductor ecosystem.'
India, starting from scratch, has moved fast with six semiconductor plants under construction across different states, including Gujarat and Assam, with the South Asian country and the first Made in India chip to be rolled out later this year.
Eyeing a 5 per cent share of the global market by 2030, the government on Aug 12 announced the approval for four more projects under the India Semiconductor Mission.
The two countries are also looking for ways to export green energy from India to Singapore.
In January, Sembcorp Green Hydrogen India, a subsidiary of Singapore's Sembcorp Industries, signed a non-binding agreement with the Odisha government to set up a green hydrogen manufacturing facility in Paradeep.
They are also looking at setting up a green shipping corridor to facilitate shipping and support the use and trading of green fuels from Paradeep Port in the state of Odisha to Singapore, a distance of around 1,900 nautical miles.
The two countries have been expanding cooperation in areas that were previously identified as well.
Upskilling is the need of the hour for India, where more than 65 per cent of the population is under 35, for the country to ensure that this demographic dividend does not become a liability.
Singapore's Institute of Technical Education Services has helped set up five skills centres in different parts of the country.
The biggest one, with the capacity to train 3,000 young Indians, was set up in the eastern state of Odisha in 2021 with courses in vertical transport, mechatronics, and air-conditioning and refrigeration.
India and Singapore enjoy close political and economic ties.
Singapore is India's top foreign investor and has accounted for about 24 per cent of India's foreign direct investment equity inflows since 2000.
Singaporean companies are constantly looking for opportunities in the fast-growing economy in areas like manufacturing, sustainability, data centres, and tech and innovation.
Many Indian start-ups, apart from multinational companies, use India as the regional headquarters, particularly in the fintech and healthtech space.
The discussions under the ISMR are beneficial for business, noted Mr Neil Parekh, chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI).
'The discussions at ISMR are expected to enhance cooperation in key sectors such as digital economy, fintech, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, and skills development,' he said.
'These align closely with the priorities of SICCI and the broader Indian business community in Singapore, offering new pathways for investment, innovation and cross-border partnerships.'
The Singapore ministers also called on Indian President Droupadi Murmu on Aug 13, with the two sides hailing the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations and reaffirming their strong bilateral cooperation.
President Murmu and the Singapore delegation discussed the ISMR and highlighted the importance of cooperation on skilling.
During their meeting, DPM Gan conveyed President Tharman Shanmugaratnam's invitation to President Murmu to make a state visit to Singapore at a mutually convenient time.
Separately, the third India-Singapore Business Roundtable (ISBR) was held on Aug 13.
The ISBR is a business-led forum that brings together select leaders to identify initiatives that could strengthen the partnership between the business communities in India and Singapore, as well as forge cultural and people-to-people ties.
Blackstone Singapore senior managing director and chairman Gautam Banerjee and Temasek Holdings executive director and chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara were among the business leaders who discussed ideas for potential partnership in areas such as digitalisation, industrial parks, skilling and infrastructure financing at the forum.