Insight 2025/2026 - India-Pakistan Tensions: What's Next?
The terror attack in Pahalgam, which saw India retaliate with strikes inside Pakistani territory, may have changed the shape of India-Pakistan relations for the near term. Will the ceasefire last?
Insight 2025/2026
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INSIGHT is a one hour long hard current affairs programme that aims to open the minds of viewers to the political, social and economic realities facing today's societies.
Every week, a team of producers will bring forward compelling arguments, impartial analysis and penetrating insights into topical issues of the day. What's on the menu are topics of concerns that have set the region talking as well as changing trends and events which impact Asia and beyond.
INSIGHT will get you closer to the heart of the issues with insightful interviews and engaging conversations, bringing to you the real story from behind extraordinary experiences.
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CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Important for 'likeminded' partners to work together in an uncertain world, says DPM Gan after India trip
SINGAPORE: As Singapore confronts a more challenging, uncertain and volatile landscape, it is important to work with "likeminded" partners like India to explore opportunities and deepen collaboration, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on Wednesday (Aug 13). He was speaking to reporters from New Delhi after attending the third India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, where leaders from both countries discussed ways to deepen cooperation between both countries. This includes collaboration in areas such as sustainability, digitalisation, skills development, healthcare and medicine, and advanced manufacturing, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a joint statement. Elaborating on the specifics of these tie-ups, Mr Gan said there were discussions on setting up a semiconductor training centre as well as an "ecosystem" in India for Singapore companies to take advantage of. He noted that the semiconductor supply chain is very long and complex, often spanning a few countries. 'Therefore, it is important for us to continue to work with our partners regardless of the tariffs,' he said, referring to the US' looming 100 per cent levy on semiconductors, which will not apply to companies that have made a commitment to manufacture in the US. However, when asked if discussions with India had covered US tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, Mr Gan said they had not. 'I think India is currently negotiating with the US, so we did not get into the details of a discussion on tariffs, specifically on pharmaceuticals,' he said. Nonetheless, extending and expanding Singapore's supply chain for semiconductors will make it more resilient, said Mr Gan, who is also the Minister for Trade and Industry. 'This will also give us more options and more alternatives in terms of where we source our components from and where we sell our products to. 'Both in terms of sourcing as well as market, we need to continue to expand and to diversify, and India is one area is that is very interesting for many of our companies,' he said. Several Singapore companies are interested in investing in India's rapidly growing semiconductor industry, and setting up an ecosystem there will ensure that people in India have the right skills to meet the needs of investors, said Mr Gan. The Singapore delegation to India also included Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng, and Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow. India's Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Railways, Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw participated in the roundtable. The Singapore ministers also called on Indian President Droupadi Murmu, where they hailed the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations. As part of the trip, six business leaders from Singapore and 10 from India also took part in another business forum to discuss ways to strengthen partnerships between the business communities in both countries. NURSES, INDUSTRIAL PARKS AND NUCLEAR Singapore and India also discussed other areas of cooperation, including a training centre on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for the aviation industry anchored by the private sector, a collaboration on nurse training, a sustainability industrial park and nuclear energy. Mr Gan noted that there may be challenges since each country has its own framework and national interest. For example, while Singapore is keen on an MRO business that can support Singapore Airlines, India would want it to support other airlines as well. Likewise, Singapore companies may want the training to focus on a particular area, but India may prefer for the training centre to serve its wider economy. On nurse training, Mr Gan noted that Singapore is already working with India to recruit nurses for Singapore's needs. As the training curriculum differs from country to country, nurses from India who come to Singapore may need refresher courses, he added. 'We are working with the training institutes in India to see how we can adjust and fine tune the curriculum and training approach so that they are more aligned with what Singapore needs. So I think this will enhance the flow of nurses to Singapore,' said Mr Gan. He also said Singapore indicated its interest in a sustainability related industrial park. Such a park would focus on sustainable waste treatment and using cleaner energy sources, and would want to attract companies producing sustainable products. It is likely to be in the state of Rajasthan, he added. The state is located in northwest India and shares a border with Pakistan. Regarding nuclear energy, Singapore wants to learn from India's experience in running small modular reactors (SMRs), given that Singapore is studying the potential deployment of nuclear energy, said Mr Gan. India has an indigenous nuclear energy programme, with most of its reactor development and construction done domestically. As of last year, the country has 24 reactors that supply 8,180 megawatts of nuclear energy, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Indian government has also laid plans to operationalize five SMRs by 2033. Mr Gan said India has agreed to help Singapore get in touch with its atomic agencies to learn more about safety standards and regulations. 'But it's still early days, we are still continuing to explore different technologies because some of the technologies are not mature yet,' said Mr Gan. 'We will continue to monitor the development of nuclear technology, particularly in the (area of) nuclear energy.'
Business Times
3 hours ago
- Business Times
India, Singapore ministers discuss deeper tie-ups in digitalisation, skills, industrial parks
[NEW DELHI] 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, 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. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up 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 DPM 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. 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 such as 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).' The third edition of the ISMR took place in New Delhi on Aug 13. PHOTO: MDDI 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 Modi's visit, Singapore and India signed a memorandum of understanding on semiconductors that would help to facilitate the entry of Singapore companies. This has helped Singapore firms such as Cleantech Services, which provides gas and chemical supply equipment and systems used in chip manufacturing, to expand operations in India. 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. During a call on Indian President Droupadi Murmu by the Singapore ministerial delegation led by DPM Gan on Aug 13, the two sides hailed the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the countries. PHOTO: PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU OF INDIA 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 such as 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 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.
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
European leaders call for protection of Ukrainian, European security interests at Trump-Putin talks
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Ukraine's and Europe's security interests must be protected when United States President Donald Trump meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday (Aug 15). He added that a ceasefire must come first before any peace negotiations, and that those negotiations must include robust security guarantees for Kyiv. He was speaking after talks with European leaders, as well as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to try and convince Trump to respect Kyiv's interests during his summit with Putin. CNA's Trent Murray reports from Berlin.
