President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s upcoming visit to New Delhi and Odisha from January 14 to 18 will mark the first time in the past decade for a Singaporean president to visit IndiaThe visit underscores the deepening ties between the two nations, both diplomatically and economically.One of the two pacts on the table is on skilling in the semiconductors sector in Odisha as both sides will embark on a course to step up their economic ties and air connectivity.The pact will help India get support from Singapore in the areas of semi-conductor fundamentals, processes, packaging and testing.The two countries are also looking at increasing the annual investment from existing 12 billion USD to 20 billion USD, diplomatic sources said.Besides meeting President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he is likely to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Health Minister J P Nadda, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development Jayant Chaudhary.He will also travel to Bhubaneshwar and meet Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. He will also visit the Konark temple.India-Singapore relations were upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in September 2024.Skill centre projects, supported by both public and private sectors, have been completed in six states: Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, and Telangana.
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