Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore early in his third term shows the importance New Delhi attaches to strengthening ties with key regional partners as part of its broader Indo-Pacific strategy, analysts say.
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“The visit was significant in Prime Minister Modi building a personal bond with newly elected Prime Minister [Lawrence] Wong and re-energising his bonhomie with other Singapore leaders. The focus of his interactions was clearly on further strengthening their relations and making these future oriented,” said Swaran Singh, an international-relations professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
During Modi’s two-day trip to Singapore – his fifth visit to the city state, and first since 2018 – the Indian prime minster and Singaporean leaders signed four Memorandums of Understanding for cooperation in semiconductors, digital technologies, skill development, and healthcare.
They also agreed to elevate the bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, aiming to boost India’s Act East Policy, which refers to its larger Indo-Pacific strategy, according to a statement from India’s foreign ministry.
“India and Singapore now have deep relationships in various domains, including defence, maritime security, trade, and economics,” said Sinderpal Singh, a senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, emphasising the progress in the bilateral ties, since they were first established in 1965.