External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has called on Singapore’s newly-elected President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and met his counterpart and other senior ministers to discuss ways to further deepen the strategic partnership between India and Singapore.
Jaishankar visited the city-state from October 18-21 and had several bilateral engagements with the leadership and senior ministers of the Singapore Cabinet, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release on Saturday.
“The EAM called on H.E. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore and congratulated him on his recent election victory,” the statement said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his Singaporean counterpart K Shanmugam and discussed further strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.
“Happy to catch up with Minister of Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam today. Exchanged views on further strengthening of our bilateral relations. Also on regional and global developments,” Jaishankar posted on X.
Jaishankar is here on the second leg of his two-nation visit to Southeast Asia. He arrived here after a four-day official visit to Vietnam.
His meeting with Shanmugam came a day after he met his Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Singapore Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Jaishankar’s visit reaffirms the close and longstanding ties between Singapore and India, which are built on a strong foundation of strategic trust.
“The visit will be an opportunity for both sides to review our bilateral cooperation, explore collaboration in emerging areas including digitalisation and skills development under the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, and exchange views on regional and global developments.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held a meeting with Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong. The discussions between the two leaders centred around new domains of cooperation with long-term implications.
India and Singapore enjoy a historical relationship that was elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2015. In 2023, both sides had several Ministerial interactions on the sidelines of the G20 held under India’s Presidency, for which Singapore was invited as a guest country, according to a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) press release.
On Thursday, he also chaired the regional conference of ASEAN and East Asia Ambassadors in Singapore and discussions were held regarding the regional situation and its potential ramifications for India.
