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The Print
3 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Singapore to deepen economic ties with India, new MoUs at ministerial meet after fresh $4.6 bn investment
The ISMR is set to be held Wednesday, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Electronics and Information Technology, set to meet with a six-member ministerial delegation from Singapore led by Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Gan Kim Yong. Diplomatic sources told ThePrint that around 10 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are being negotiated in sectors, such as advanced technologies, skills training, digitalisation, health, connectivity and sustainability, which are set to be finalised at the third India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) ahead of a likely visit by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong early next month. New Delhi: Singapore is expected to announce a raft of new investments in India, as the South East Asian nation continues to deepen its economic engagement with India with primary focus on advanced manufacturing, green energy exports, logistics, skill training, connectivity and sustainability. This includes the $4.6 billion investment announced Tuesday. 'Envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, ISMR is a unique mechanism for setting a new agenda for India–Singapore cooperation…India and Singapore share a Comprehensive Strategic partnership. The 3rd round of ISMR will identify avenues to further broaden and deepen our bilateral relations,' the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The visit by the Singaporean delegation is significant as it comes amidst the global turmoil in trade unleashed by US President Donald J. Trump through his reciprocal tariffs. While Singapore has a baseline tariff of 10 percent, Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 50 percent on India, which includes a penalty levy due to New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. Diplomatic sources indicate that for Singapore, India remains an important economic partner, despite the ongoing redrawing of the global trade system, with the country investing roughly $159 billion in the South Asian country in the last decade. The ISMR will also likely finalise the framework for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) announced by India and Singapore last year. Wong's visit next month is likely to see Singaporean businesses promise to increase their annual investment in India to the tune of roughly $20 billion, from the current average of around $15 billion. Singapore has been a heavy investor in India's logistics sector, with Deputy Prime Minister Yong visiting two significant investments in Mumbai by Singaporean companies in Mumbai Tuesday. He visited PSA's Bharat Mumbai container terminal at Navi Mumbai. The PSA project in Navi Mumbai has seen the Singaporean company invest roughly $1.7 billion, which will see the container terminal eventually handle 50 percent of the total capacity at the port. The official inauguration of the second phase of PSA's project in Navi Mumbai is likely to take place during Wong's visit to India. The Singaporean deputy prime minister also visited a new data centre built by CapitalLand Investments (CLI), the Singaporean firm's largest in India. Cooperation in the supply chain of advanced technologies is expected to be a key sector for discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Wong next month, with the ISMR looking into finalising the framework of these talks. Last year, the Indian prime minister visited the facilities of AEM in Singapore, a leading semiconductor and electronics firm. The last round of the ISMR in 2024 had agreed that advanced manufacturing with a focus on semiconductors is set to be a key pillar of ties between the two countries. Apart from advanced manufacturing, Singapore is also keen to invest in India's green energy ports. Currently, a Singaporean firm has invested in the port at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, and another MoU was signed with the Government of Odisha earlier this year in the same sector. Other areas currently likely to feature in the ISMR's list of agreements with a view towards Prime Minister Wong's visit include the space sector, a diplomatic source highlighted. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: India's new restriction on jute imports from Bangladesh—can't access land ports on border
NZ Herald
20-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Christopher Luxon raises Cook Islands impasse with Chinese Premier, disagrees with Nato boss that China in league with Russia to undermine West
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon brought up New Zealand's frustrations over China's engagement with the Cook Islands in his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing yesterday. Relations between New Zealand and the Cook Islands are strained after Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown signed a Comprehensive Strategic
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First Post
07-06-2025
- Politics
- First Post
‘Perpetrators of evil…' Jaishankar reiterates zero tolerance for terrorism in talks with UK's David Lammy
India will never countenance 'perpetrators of evil' being put on par with its victims and expects partners to understand its policy of 'zero tolerance' against terrorism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday during extensive talks with his British counterpart David Lammy. read more India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasised on Saturday that India will never accept equating terrorists with their victims and expects international partners to respect its strict 'zero tolerance' stance on terrorism. His comments came amid concerns in New Delhi about some countries linking India and Pakistan following recent clashes between the two neighbors. Glad to meet UK Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy today in Delhi. Appreciate UK's strong condemnation of the terrorist attack on Pahalgam and support in combatting terrorism. Our conversation focused on the significant strides being made by the 🇮🇳 🇬🇧 Comprehensive Strategic… — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 7, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After arriving in Delhi, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who welcomed the UK's support in India's efforts to combat cross-border terrorism. Following the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the British foreign secretary strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack while Modi underscored the need for a decisive international action against terrorism and those who support it. 'Appreciate his substantive contribution to the remarkable progress in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, further strengthened by the recently concluded FTA. Value UK's support for India's fight against cross-border terrorism,' the prime minister said in a social media post. Modi described the recent conclusion of the India-UK free trade pact and double contribution convention (DCC) as a 'strategic milestone' that will unlock potential of the partnership in diverse sectors, according to the MEA. It said the prime minister conveyed his warm greetings to his UK counterpart Sir Keir Starmer and reiterated the invitation for his visit to India at the 'earliest mutual convenience'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In his televised opening remarks at the meeting with Lammy, Jaishankar thanked the UK for its strong condemnation of the 'barbaric' Pahalgam terror attack and London's solidarity and support to New Delhi's fight against terrorism. 'We practise a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and expect our partners to understand it, and we will never countenance perpetrators of evil being put at par with its victims,' he said. It is understood that the Indian side explained India's challenge of dealing with cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The UK was among countries which were in touch with both India and Pakistan in an attempt to de-escalate their tensions during their military conflict from May 7-10. Lammy paid a two-day visit to Islamabad from May 16 during which he welcomed the May 10 understanding between India and Pakistan to stop the military actions. After the meeting, the British foreign secretary said: 'We are advancing a new era in UK-India relations — boosting trade and technology, tackling the climate crisis and providing greater security for our people.' In his remarks, Jaishankar described the recent conclusion of the India-UK free trade agreement and the double contribution convention as 'truly a milestone which will not only propel our two-way trade and investment but will also have a positive effect on other strategic aspects of our bilateral ties'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As Lammy landed in Delhi, a British readout quoted him as saying: 'We're building a modern partnership with India for a new global era.' It said he will also welcome progress in 'our migration partnership, including ongoing work on safeguarding citizens and securing borders in both countries'. The MEA said the two ministers reviewed the overall bilateral ties and expressed satisfaction at the progress in diverse sectors, including trade, defence and security, technology, health, green energy and climate, education, and people-to-people ties under the India-UK comprehensive strategic partnership. Lammy's visit provided a valuable opportunity to sustain the high-level engagement and to further consolidate the partnership as both sides agreed to continue working closely to advance their shared objectives, it added. Addressing migration remains a top priority for the government and Lammy is focused on working internationally with global partners to secure the UK's borders at home, the British readout said. 'India was one of my first visits as foreign secretary, and since then has been a key partner in the delivery of our 'Plan for Change'. Our relationship has gone from strength to strength — securing our future technologies, adding over 25 billion pounds in trade every year between our countries and deepening the strong links between our cultures and people,' he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Lammy said the signing of the free trade agreement with India is just the start of the ambitions for the two countries. 'We're building a modern partnership with India for a new global era. We want to go even further to foster an even closer relationship and cooperate when it comes to delivering growth, fostering innovative technology, tackling the climate crisis and delivering our migration priorities, and providing greater security for our people,' he was quoted in the readout. The British foreign secretary was also scheduled to meet leading figures in Indian business to discuss how both sides can unlock greater investment by Indian business in the UK. In 2023-24, India was the UK's second largest source of investments in terms of number of projects for the fifth consecutive year. In his remarks, Jaishankar listed various initiatives which were rolled out recently to bolster the ties. 'Since your last visit to India, there have been significant initiatives which both of us have taken and those initiatives have progressed well.' Jaishankar singled out the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) and said it will enable deeper collaboration in strategic technology sectors of AI, semiconductors, telecom, quantum, health-tech, bio-tech, critical minerals and advanced materials. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We have also launched the strategic exports and technology cooperation dialogue, the first meeting of which was held, I believe, this week. 'This will enhance among others the TSI's effectiveness in promoting trade in critical and emerging technologies, including the resolution of relevant licensing or regulatory issues,' he said. Jaishankar also pointed to the UK-India infrastructure financial bridge and said it can unlock quality long-term capital flows from the United Kingdom to India, and that would surely contribute to our infrastructure development. 'There is very good collaboration in the education sector with many more universities, I believe, planning to establish their campuses in India, and on the people-to-people ties front, we had the privilege — I myself had the honour – to open two new consulates in Manchester and Belfast,' he said. The overall focus of the talks was to further deepen and diversify the India-UK partnership. With inputs from agencies
