Minister: Hi everyone, thanks for joining me here in New Delhi. Let me just say a few introductory remarks, first about Singapore-India relations, and then ASEAN-India relations.
On the first point, our relations with India are excellent. We have (a) longstanding, wide-ranging, multifaceted relationship that goes back a very long time. If I stop to think about it, I think I have met Minister Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, five times over the last two years – all over the world. But it is still special to be able to meet him here on home ground. In the last two and a half years, obviously, COVID has been a major challenge both for India in a major way, and also for us in Singapore. We have been able to extend mutual support for each other. I remember clearly speaking to him, during the depths of the crisis, quietly but effectively, to enable the flow of essential goods, supplies, medications and the rest, even during the worst of times.
The other surprising thing, which people may not be aware of, is that trade during COVID between India and Singapore continued to expand very healthily. In fact, I think it expanded by about 35 percent last year compared to the year before – very strong growth despite the pandemic. In terms of investments, Singapore remains the largest foreign investor in India. I think about 30 percent of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) to India actually comes from Singapore. Our Singaporean businesses are interested in multiple areas of the Indian economy, including logistics, digitalisation, infrastructure, training – multiple interesting aspects. But if you take a step back and look at the Indian economy as a whole, it has continued to grow at a very healthy pace. I think last year, it reached 8.7 percent growth in GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Again, this is still in the midst of the COVID pandemic. If you look in terms of investments, apart from the historical investments, Singapore companies are also interested in digital opportunities, financial institutions. There is much emerging and interesting stuff going on, also in green and sustainable development.
If you think about India’s strength, one area which I think not enough people pay attention to is the fact that 65 percent of the population are below the age of 35. At a time when many parts of Asia are ageing, and ageing rapidly, the demographic dividend in India has not yet been harvested. Speaking of harvests, the other factoid that I think even sometimes in Singapore we are not aware of, is that India is one of the world’s largest agriculture exporters. In fact, as far as rice is concerned, India is the largest exporter of rice in the world. I was intrigued to notice that India’s agricultural exports in fact increased by nearly 20 percent last year compared to the year before that. If you look in terms of the Indian economy, especially in digital services, financial institutions, you know that this is an economy which is maturing quickly, leapfrogging, taking advantage of digital opportunities, and therefore, it is an economy in Asia that we need to watch more closely and look for opportunities to invest and collaborate. That is as far as the bilateral account is concerned. Basically, excellent, full of opportunities.
On the ASEAN account, I was here to co-chair the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers Meeting. In a sense, we are commemorating 30 years since India became a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN, and in fact, a decade since they became strategic partners. We are now on the verge of upgrading this relationship into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. A few areas that we discussed this morning include investments in infrastructure, especially connectivity. For instance, India is keen on building a highway that would connect India through Myanmar to Thailand, and onward to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. This highway, East-West connection across ASEAN to India will also accelerate and increase many economic opportunities in the future. On the digital side, there is a lot more that we can do. For instance, the ASEAN countries are aware that between Singapore and India, we are linking up our PayNow system to India’s UPI – Unified Payment Interface system – which will basically allow convenient, low-cost digital transactions to occur across the border. Imagine if we could do that on ASEAN-wide scale. It would facilitate businesses, increase opportunities for manufacturers across a much larger market. You got to remember that the combined ASEAN-India market has got more than 2 billion people, and the combined GDP of nearly US$ 6 trillion. That is a significant number which is worth us fully taking advantage. Also, ASEAN is interested in green and sustainable technology, which is an area which both India and ASEAN need to explore, because we are all facing the challenges of climate change. All in all, it is a sustained, major account for ASEAN, and (it is) well worth putting in the time and the effort to nurture this relationship.
Tan Ke-Yang (LHZB): Hi Minister, in view of the situation in Ukraine and the geopolitical tension in the region, how will Singapore and ASEAN work with India to tackle energy and food supply issues, as well as overcome challenges in global logistics?
Minister: First of all, the situation in Ukraine obviously has a global impact, particularly on food scarcity, food prices and obviously energy prices. India is certainly significantly affected as far as energy is concerned. On the food side, as I said earlier, the fact that India itself is a major food exporter, in fact, gives it opportunities as well, but clearly, they are also concerned with the impact of food prices rising domestically. Hence, they are also taking some domestic measures. But the key point is this – assuming they get a good monsoon, and that the harvest is good, you can expect India to continue to be a superpower where food is concerned. We certainly look forward to them being able to export more food to Southeast Asia and beyond. This is again a situation where a crisis presents both a challenge and an opportunity. So again, the more India and ASEAN can interconnect, engage, lower trade barriers, lower non-tariff barriers and facilitate the flow of goods and services, the better for all of us. In times like this, it just shows again the value of really integrating our economies, and India is quite a natural and complementary partner for ASEAN.
Debarshi Dasgupta (ST): As India takes on a more active role in the Indo-Pacific through the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, there are some who believe that ASEAN is beginning to matter less to India. How do you view this assessment, Minister Balakrishnan?
Minister: Well, I have the opposite take on that. I think ASEAN matters even more to India. As the Indian economy grows, as its markets of its exports, and even its need for energy and other resources, India has got strategic interests, not just in the Indian Ocean, but across the Asia Pacific as well. Because ASEAN is right in the middle of it, ASEAN matters even more to India. In fact, this morning’s meeting confirms (this). The fact that we have got so much opportunity to do more by integrating our economies, we have got so many opportunities in the digital space, we have got great opportunities in terms of green technologies, sustainable development, carbon markets; I am convinced – and it is not just my view, but it is reflecting the view of the Indian government – that ASEAN matters even more to India.
Tan Si Hui (CNA): Can I just ask if there was any progress, because of the Myanmar situation that is one of the focus of this meet in New Delhi, and especially since Myanmar was not even here, present at the meeting – any progress?
Minister: Therewas again another empty chair at the conference. The empty chair for Myanmar. India understands the ASEAN position that unless there is progress on the Five Point Consensus, we will maintain the position that representation from Myanmar will be at the non-political level. That is the first point. The next point is that, unfortunately, there has not been any significant progress at all on the Five Point Consensus. The third point is that the onus for making progress must lie with the military authorities in Myanmar. Unfortunately, it looks like the situation there is not any better. You still get reports of violence, of economic stagnation, in fact, of economic regression. There is really no concerted, sincere, open-hearted attempts at dialogue and political reconciliation. On the humanitarian front, ASEAN is trying to deliver humanitarian assistance into Myanmar and for this, we will try to engage all parties – both the military authorities as well as the other stakeholders in Myanmar. We have to ensure that humanitarian assistance goes to the people in need, and it does not become politicised, it is not used to favour one side or the other. Let us focus on people, on their needs, and getting as much assistance as we can deliver to our fellow people in Myanmar. India is an immediate neighbour of Myanmar so clearly, they also have concerns. I know for a fact that India has been providing humanitarian assistance and been providing vaccines, medical treatment, and India also has security and humanitarian considerations along their shared border. I would say the details of the approach that India and ASEAN would adopt would be a bit different because our circumstances are different. But in terms of the approach, we hope for political reconciliation, we hope for cessation of violence, and we stand ready to provide humanitarian assistance on all these key points – India and ASEAN share the same perspective. But to be honest with you, there is still no progress, and that is an observation I make with a great sorrow.
Atiyyah Mohamed Said (Berita Harian): There has been growing anger in the Muslim world, including among our ASEAN neighbours over the remarks insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Was this topic ever brought up and discussed during the visit? If so, what is the response by the Indian government? Also, maybe you can share some comments on the matter. Thank you.
Minister: Well, this is a delicate subject. It was discussed discreetly, informally – not as part of the formal agenda. But let me just reflect views from a Singapore perspective. This episode is another stark reminder why we need to be so careful and why we need to strongly reject hate speech, incendiary speech, speech which incites, or aggravates, or causes insult or division within societies. This is just another reminder, and it is an affirmation for why we take such a strict approach to this in Singapore. I view it as another stark reminder that we are on the right track in Singapore. We treat everybody fairly. The government's main duty is to be fair, to protect, to make sure there is no incitement, that there is no violence. So long as we remember that and treat each other with respect, we can live, let live. In fact, we can live well as a united, cohesive, multiracial, multireligious, multilingual society. That is the key lesson that we need to bear in mind.
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