12 Oct 2015
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan co-chaired the Fourth Meeting of the India-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) for Bilateral Cooperation with Minister of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs of the Republic of India Sushma Swaraj on 12 October 2015 in New Delhi.
During the meeting, the Ministers welcomed the regular exchange of high-level visits between India and Singapore and noted the excellent state of bilateral relations as both countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. They reaffirmed the decision to elevate the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership during the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2015, which would entail, inter alia, the expansion of cooperation in five focal areas: (i) Scaling up investment and trade; (ii) Speeding up air and maritime connectivity; (iii) Smart City development and urban rejuvenation; (iv) Skills development and capacity building; and (v) State focus to strengthen business and cultural links. They agreed that the Strategic Partnership should be ambitious and forward-looking with concrete deliverables.
As part of the Strategic Partnership discussions, Minister Balakrishnan updated Minister Swaraj on Singapore’s contributions to India in the areas of Smart Cities and skills development, for example, Singapore’s master-planning of Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh’s new capital city, and support of the Centre of Excellence in Tourism Training in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Both Ministers agreed on the need to enhance economic cooperation, including expanding trade and investment between both countries. Minister Balakrishnan emphasised the importance of enhancing connectivity between India and Singapore, particularly in the aviation sector.
Both Ministers looked forward to the visit of Prime Minister Modi in November 2015. They reviewed key elements of the visit, noted with satisfaction the good progress made, and expressed confidence that the visit would impart further momentum to the relations between the two countries.