Singapore's President Tan Keng Yam to arrive in India on 3-day visit on Sunday

NEW DELHI: Singapore's President Tan Keng Yam will arrive here on Sunday on a three-day visit to hold talks with the top Indian leadership and to mark the golden jubilee of bilateral ties.

This is the first visit by a Singaporean President in 12 years. India and Singapore are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations this year.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Lok Sabha election victory on Twitter and FaceBook. In response, Modi had hailed Singapore as a valued friend and expressed confidence that bilateral ties will become stronger.

Singapore is India's largest trade and investment partner in ASEAN, accounting for a third of India's overall trade with ASEAN.

Economic and commercial ties have expanded significantly, particularly after the conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in 2005. CECA with Singapore was the first such agreement to be signed by India with any country.

Ethnic Indians constitute about 9.1 per cent of the total population of 5.4 million, including permanent residents.

In recognition of their contribution towards promotion of India-Singapore relations, the Indian government has bestowed Padma Shri to Ambassador Gopinath Pillai, Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, and Satpal Khattar, prominent lawyer and businessman.

Former Singaporean President S R Nathan was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2012.