With a new government in Delhi, Singapore is eager to schedule the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) soon, according to Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. This development underlines the strength and potential of India Singapore relations, which span historical, economic, strategic, and technological domains.
Key Points
- To look at the bipartisan element of Singapore-India ties, they have long historical, cultural, linguistic and commercial ties.
- He also said that India has never been the easiest to invest in. But take a 10- or 20-year look back and clearly it has opened up. It has become easier and more predictable.
- On digitalisation, digital ID, digital finance, India is way ahead. It’s no accident that our PayNow system is also linked to UPI.
India Singapore Relations
History of India Singapore Relations
- The close ties between India and Singapore is attributed to Sir Stamford Raffles who, in 1819, established a trading station in Singapore on the route of the Straits of Malacca which later became a crown colony and governed from Kolkata till 1867.
- The colonial connection is reflected in institutions and practices, usage of English and presence of a large Indian community.
- India was one of the first countries to recognize Singapore in 1965.
Economy Relations
- Five areas of cooperation (5S) were agreed in 2014 for specific focus – (i) Scale up Trade & Investment; (ii) Speed up Connectivity; (iii) Smart Cities & Urban Rejuvenation; (iv) Skill development; and (v) State focus. In 2018, FinTech & Innovation was recognized as the new driver of bilateral relationship.
- Singapore is India’s largest trade partner in ASEAN. It is the leading source of FDI, among the largest sources of External Commercial Borrowings and Foreign Portfolio Investment.
- Bilateral trade expanded after the conclusion of The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement signed in 2005 from USD 6.7 billion in FY 2004-05 to USD 30.11 billion in 2021-22.
- India was Singapore’s 12th largest trade partner, for the year 2021-22
- Singapore is India’s 6th largest trade partner with a share of 2.9% of India’s overall trade (2021-22).
Defence And Security Cooperation
- India and Singapore have a longstanding and comprehensive partnership
- India and Singapore share similar concerns about the challenges posed by terrorism and extremism and have found it mutually beneficial to evolve a broad framework of security cooperation.
- In 2015, they elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
- They have also signed several agreements to enhance their defence ties, such as the Defence Cooperation Agreement (2003) and the Naval Cooperation Agreement (2017).
- Military Exercises: Navy: SIMBEX Air Force: SINDEX Army: Bold Kurukshetra
Science & Technology Cooperation
- ISRO launched Singapore’s indigenously built micro-satellites since 2011.
- MOUs have been signed in areas of artificial intelligence, machine learning, cognitive computing and big data analytics to improve healthcare, cybersecurity, automation, mobility, smart energy systems and e-governance
Connectivity and People-to-People Ties
- Singapore is now directly connected to 15 Indian cities by 8 airlines with more than 500 weekly flights both ways.
- India the third largest source in tourism for Singapore.
- Singaporean companies continue to participate in a number of smart city, urban planning, logistics and infrastructure projects.
- Singapore is working with the Central and state Governments as well as Government organisations to establish skill development centres in various sectors
- Cooperation in the areas of technology, innovation, fintech and startups have grown
- India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore’s PayNow have been integrated in February 2023 to enable faster Remittances between the two countries.
Diplomatic Engagement and Multilateral Platforms
- India and Singapore are part of numerous groupings like G20, Commonwealth, IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association), East Asia Summit, and IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
- Singapore supported India’s bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and expand its role and influence in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
- Singapore also supported India in its war against Pakistan in 1965 and the Kashmir conflict.
Indian Community in Singapore
- Ethnic Indians constitute about 9.1 % or around 3.5 lakhs of the resident population of 3.9 million in Singapore.
- In addition, among the 1.6 million foreigners residing in Singapore, about 21 % or around 3.5 lakhs are Indian expatriates holding Indian passports, mostly serving in financial services, IT, students, construction and marine sectors.
- Singapore has the highest concentration of IIT and IIM alumni in any one city outside India.
- Tamil is one of the four official languages of Singapore.
- Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Bengali and Punjabi are also taught in schools. Welfare and well-being of the Indian nationals, including Indian workers feature prominently in consular responsibilities of the Mission.
About Singapore
- Singapore is officially known as the Republic of Singapore.
- It is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia.
- It lies about one degree of latitude north of the equator.
- Borders: The Malay Peninsula in the North. Strait of Malacca in the West. Singapore Strait in the South. The South China Sea in the East. The Straits of Johor in the North.
- It has the 3rd highest population density in the world.
- Singapore is the only country in Asia with an AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies.
- It is major aviation, financial and maritime shipping hub.
- It has been consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in.
- It ranks high in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure and housing.
Conclusion of India Singapore Relations
As India’s new government takes charge, India Singapore relations are poised for further growth. Whether through trade, defence cooperation, or digital innovation, both nations continue to demonstrate a model of forward-looking, strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific region.
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