Finance Minister meets Singapore President & PM to accelerate bilateral pact

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Monday met Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to take forward bilateral strategic partnership.

She was joined by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, commerce minister Piyush Goyal and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who are accompanying her on the visit to participate in the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR).

"FM Smt. @nsitharaman appreciated President Mr. @Tharman_S for being a strong proponent of multilateralism through his seminal contribution to developing far-reaching reforms that can enable governments and institutions to deal with 21st century challenges," the finance ministry said in a post on X.


The meeting is crucial ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to the country next month.

During the meeting, the leaders emphasised on ways of further enhancing co-operation between India and Singapore in emerging and futuristic areas.

"Both sides deliberated upon six pillars identified under ISMR, which include digitalisation, skill development, sustainability, healthcare & medicine and advanced manufacturing and connectivity," the finance ministry said.

The leaders also discussed plans for commemorating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore, alongside regional and global cooperation, including Asean and G20 developments, it added.

The Singaporean delegation comprises minister for foreign affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, minister for home affairs and law K Shanmugam, minister for digital development & information and second minister for home affairs Josephine Teo, minister for manpower and second minister for trade & industry Tan See Leng and minister for transport and second minister for finance Chee Hong Tat.