Trade to tech: India, Singapore plan strategic partnership; nations chart road map to boost ties | India News

NEW DELHI: India and Singapore announced a new road map for their comprehensive strategic partnership aimed at advancing cooperation in a range of areas like economic cooperation, skill development, digitalisation, connectivity, sustainability, healthcare, people-to-people contacts and defence and security, as PM Narendra Modi held talks with his visiting counterpart Lawrence Wong.Announcing the road map, Modi said India’s ties with Singapore go far beyond diplomacy.“This is a partnership with purpose, rooted in shared values, guided by mutual interests, and driven by a common vision for peace, progress and prosperity,” he said while thanking Singapore also for its support to India on the issue of cross-border terrorism and the Pahalgam attack.He said both sides had charted a detailed road map for the future of the partnership. “Our cooperation will not remain confined to traditional areas. In keeping with the needs of changing times, advanced manufacturing, green shipping, skilling, civil nuclear energy, and urban water management will also emerge as focus points of our collaboration,” he said, adding that to further accelerate bilateral trade, a time-bound review will be undertaken of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, as well as the Free Trade Agreement with Asean.The two countries also signed five agreements in areas like space, digitalisation, civil aviation and space. They also agreed to explore civil nuclear cooperation. The leaders backed the growth of India’s semiconductor industry and ecosystem, including through cooperation under the India-Singapore Semiconductor Policy Dialogue, facilitating partnerships with Singapore companies and advancing resilient semiconductor supply chains, said a joint statement. Modi said the Semiconductor Ecosystem Partnership Agreement, concluded last year, had given a new impetus to research and development.There was a lot of focus on expanding defence and security cooperation as the leaders backed continued exchanges, including regular meetings between the defence ministers, and continued military cooperation and exchanges through joint army, naval and air force exercises in various formats. They also agreed to deepen technology cooperation in emerging areas such as quantum computing, AI, automation and unmanned vessels.According to the joint statement, Singapore acknowledged with appreciation India’s interest in the Malacca Straits Patrol, a maritime security initiative involving Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.“Singapore is a vital pillar of our Act East Policy. Together, we will continue to advance cooperation with Asean and carry forward our joint vision for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Modi, adding both countries share common concerns regarding terrorism and believe that it is the duty of all nations that value humanity to unite in the fight against this menace.The joint statement reaffirmed strong commitment to combat terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, and reiterated zero-tolerance to terrorism. It said both countries will strengthen cooperation to fight against global and regional terrorism and terror organizations, including those proscribed by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee and against terror financing, through bilateral mechanisms, FATF and other multilateral platforms.