PM Narendra Modi’s visits to Brunei, Singapore begin today. What’s on agenda?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on official visits to Brunei and Singapore from Tuesday, September 3. PM Narendra Modi will visit Brunei on September 3-4 at the invitation of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in all existing sectors.
It is the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to that country. It marks 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Brunei.
“Over the next two days, will be visiting Brunei Darussalam and Singapore. During the various engagements in these nations, the focus will be on further deepening India’s ties with them. India-Brunei Darussalam diplomatic ties complete 40 glorious years. I look forward to meeting His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah,” Modi posted on X on Tuesday morning.
“In Singapore, I will hold talks with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. We are eager to further cement ties in key sectors,” he added.
What’s on agenda?
On Modi’s Brunei visit, ministry of external affairs’ secretary (east) Jaideep Mazumdar said the prime minister will hold bilateral discussions on all aspects of relations and cooperation with Brunei.
“As you know, we share a very warm and friendly relationship with Brunei and our engagements cover multiple areas such as defence, trade and investment, energy, space, technology, health, capacity, building, culture and vibrant people-to-people exchanges,” ANI quoted Mazumdar as saying.
“The Indian diaspora in Brunei is about 14,000 and they comprise a substantial number of doctors and teachers in Brunei who have earned goodwill and respect for their contributions to Brunei economy and society,” he added.
The MEA official added that Brunei is an important partner for India’s ‘Act East Policy’ and the vision for the Indo-Pacific.
“As we mark a decade of our Act East policy this year, the visit assumes additional significance. Brunei has been our Country Coordinator in ASEAN from 2012 to 2015 and played a key role in our further engagements with ASEAN and continues to do so today,” the MEA official added.
Modi’s visit to Singapore
After Brunei, Modi will visit Singapore on September 4-5 at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong. He is visiting the country after nearly six years.
During the visit, Prime Minister will call on President of Singapore H.E. Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam and interact with Singaporean leadership. Prime Minister will also meet with business leaders from Singapore, the ministry of external affairs said in a statement.
On India-Singapore ties, MEA’s secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar said,”Our trade and investment flows have shown a steady growth, we have a robust defence cooperation and growing exchanges in culture and education. We have identified new anchors of our partnership under the India-Singapore ministerial roundtable framework.”
There will be an interaction with the CEOs and other business leaders in Singapore during Prime Minister Modi’s visit, he added.