Odisha will be the highlight of Singapore President’s India visit

Mr. Shanmugaratnam will visit Odisha on January 17-18 as an expression of his government’s interest in setting up projects and collaboration in the state

Singapore will mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral relation with India with the January 15-18 India visit by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. According to diplomatic sources, the visit is part of a year-long chain of events and exchanges that will mark the maturing of the relationship over the past six decades.

The unique aspect of the planned visit will be the focus on Odisha as an Indian State of Singapore’s interest. Mr. Shanmugaratnam will visit the State on January 17-18 as an expression of his government’s interest in setting up projects and collaboration there. During the stay in Odisha,  he will visit a vaccine manufacturing plant of Bharat Biotech and tour the World Skills Centre supported by Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES). 

During his stay in Delhi on January 15-16, the President will confer the Honorary Citizen Award on Tarun Das, former Director -General of the Confederation of Indian Indusry (CII), for his contribution to Singapore-India relations and attend a think tank event. He will also meet members of the Singaporean community based in India. He will meet President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Shanmugaratnam, who is of Sri Lankan Tamil origin, will also meet Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Health Minister J.P. Nadda, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. President Murmu will host a state banquet for Mr. Shanmugaratnam on the evening of January 16. The Indian President is expected to visit Singapore later this year as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations.

Singapore has usually tied up with Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Karnataka and the latest focus on Odisha and Assam are part of its reorientation to broaden the range for partnership in India, a diplomatic source said here on Friday. Two memoranda of understanding (MoUS) will be signed during Mr. Shanmugaratnam’s visit to Odisha. One of the largest trading partners of India, Singapore is gearing up to expand its industrial cooperation in India in fields like semiconductor devices and integrated circuits, industrial automation, semiconductor processes, design engineering, and so on.

The two sides are also in continued discussion on airline services and the diplomatic source mentioned that Singapore has fully utilised the number of seats allocated while India is yet to utilise its share fully. Singapore is gearing up to set up training centres for semiconductor-related work. Apart from projects in the realm of critical technology and critical mineral-based items like lithium battery, Singapore is a strategic player in the Southeast Asian region and has considerable say on the crisis in Myanmar, where the rebels have seized substantial territory from the control of the military junta. Singapore stopped the sale of weapons through its territory last year which impacted the military junta. The matter has remained alive between India-ASEAN relation where the city-state is an important player.

Mr. Shanmugaratnam will be accompanied by Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Chee HongTat, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann, and members of parliament Lim Biow Chuan, Joan Pereira and Wan Rizal. A business delegation will accompany the leader during the visit.

Published - January 10, 2025 10:11 pm IST