Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attended the lunch hosted by Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The two leaders shook hands and warmly greeted each other.
PM Modi and Lee Hsien Loong were engaged in talks as they sat to have lunch together.
PM concluded a productive second day of his visit to Singapore, marked by high-level meetings, facility tours, and the signing of significant agreements. The day’s events underscored the deepening ties between India and Singapore across various sectors.
The day began with PM Modi receiving a ceremonial welcome at Singapore’s Parliament House, where he was greeted by his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong. After signing the visitor’s book, the two leaders engaged in bilateral talks focused on enhancing cooperation in areas such as skilling, technology, healthcare, and artificial intelligence.
“We both agreed on the need to boost trade relations,” PM Modi said in a post on social media platform X, highlighting the productive nature of their discussions.
A significant moment of the visit was the exchange of four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between India and Singapore. These agreements, signed in the presence of both prime ministers, cover collaboration in digital technologies, partnership in the semiconductor sector, joint initiatives in health and medicine, and cooperation in education and skills development. The MoUs were exchanged by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Singapore’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.
Following the bilateral talks, PM Modi and PM Wong visited the semiconductor facility of AEM Holdings Ltd. During this visit, they were briefed on AEM’s role in the global semiconductor value chain and its plans for India. PM Modi took the opportunity to invite Singapore’s semiconductor companies to participate in the upcoming SEMICON INDIA exhibition, scheduled for September 11-13, 2024, in Greater Noida.
The facility visit also included interactions with Indian interns from Odisha’s World Skill Centre undergoing training in Singapore, as well as Singaporean interns who had visited India under the CII-Enterprise Singapore India Ready Talent Programme. This exchange highlighted the growing people-to-people ties between the two nations.
PM Modi’s two-day visit to Singapore, which began on Wednesday, follows his official trip to Brunei. This series of engagements in Southeast Asia reflects India’s commitment to strengthening its strategic and economic partnerships in the region.
(Inputs from ANI)