NEW DELHI: Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong hosted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for a private dinner on Wednesday ahead of their talks on Thursday that are expected to drive cooperation in crucial areas such as digitalisation and semiconductors.
PM Modi arrived in Singapore on the second leg of a two-nation Southeast Asian tour, after making the first bilateral visit to Brunei by an Indian premier. On his arrival, he was received at the airport by Singapore’s home minister K Shanmugam.
Wong hosted Modi for a private dinner at the Istana, or the presidential palace, which is used to receive and entertain state guests. Footage released by the Singapore premier’s office showed the two leaders embracing and having a chat before the dinner, for which they were joined by close aides such as external affairs minister S Jaishankar and Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
{{/usCountry}}Wong hosted Modi for a private dinner at the Istana, or the presidential palace, which is used to receive and entertain state guests. Footage released by the Singapore premier’s office showed the two leaders embracing and having a chat before the dinner, for which they were joined by close aides such as external affairs minister S Jaishankar and Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
{{/usCountry}}“Delighted to have the chance to catch up over a meal at the Istana, before the official meetings tomorrow,” Wong said on X. Modi said in a separate post that he had an “excellent discussion on a wide range of issues”. He added, “India cherishes the friendship with Singapore.”
Modi also said earlier on X that he looked forward to various meetings aimed at boosting the India-Singapore friendship. “India’s reforms and the talent of our Yuva Shakti makes our nation an ideal investment destination. We also look forward to closer cultural ties,” he said.
On Thursday, Modi and Wong will hold talks on ways to drive forward cooperation in a wide range of areas and build on the meeting last month of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, which added advanced manufacturing and connectivity as new areas of collaboration. The two sides will unveil about five agreements, including a crucial one on cooperation in semiconductors.
“This visit is important as it gives a major push to India’s Act East policy, to India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific, to India-Singapore economic ties and to India-Singapore technological ties,” said external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
Following a ceremonial welcome at the Parliament House on Thursday, Modi will also meet senior minister Lee Hsien Long, emeritus senior minister Goh Chok Tong and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Modi will join Wong to visit the semiconductor facility of AEM Holdings Ltd before participating in a roundtable of CEOs to forge closer trade and investment ties.
Singapore is India’s largest trade partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the sixth largest trade partner worldwide. Besides, Singapore was the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in 2023, and its cumulative investments since 2000 are worth $160 billion.