NEW DELHI: India and Singapore are looking at establishing a “corridor for renewable energy” besides forging close ties in critical sectors like advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Thursday.In his maiden visit to India as the president of the city state, Shanmugaratnam also said that a “data corridor” between the GIFT City in Gujarat and Singapore is being explored too for the financial institutions of the two sides to exchange data on a safe and trusted basis.The Singaporean leader, on a five-day visit to India, held separate talks with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a broad focus on further expansion of the bilateral ties in a range of areas.Singapore and India are now on a “new trajectory” of cooperation after the relations were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore in September last year, Shanmugaratnam told reporters.On the Modi-Shanmugaratnam meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said they extensively reviewed the bilateral relationship and discussed ways to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership.The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, it said.”We are exploring new initiatives going beyond the existing active relationship that we have. We are cooperating in advanced manufacturing and semiconductors,” Shanmugaratnam said.Both sides are also working on new “generation and net zero” industrial parks besides focusing on skilling for new industries, he said.”In the digital space, we are exploring the possibility of a data corridor between GIFT City and Singapore so that our financial institutions can exchange data on a safe and trusted basis,” Shanmugaratnam said.The visiting leader said sustainability is a major priority for both India and Singapore. “We are working actively to look at whether a corridor for renewable energy between India and Singapore can be achieved,” he said.”I am optimistic about our relations with India. I am optimistic because our leaders see eye-to-eye. We are natural partners. Singapore has invested in India’s ambition to be a developed country by 2047,” the Singaporean leader said.Shanmugaratnam also referred to how India recognised his country around six decades back. “We will never forget that India was one of the first few countries to recognize Singapore’s independence in 1965. And since then our relationship has grown by bounds,” he said.”It’s a natural partnership between a small country, Singapore, and a very large country, India. But we found ways to cooperate in ways that are mutual interests in a whole range of areas,” Shanmugaratnam added.The Singapore president said, “Our business relationships are thriving. In fact, Singapore has been the largest investor in India for many years now. Our defence relationship is strong.” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on the Singapore president on Wednesday evening.In addition, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Health Minister J P Nadda, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Skill Development Minister Jayant Chaudhary also called on the visiting leader.In a statement, the MEA said Tharman’s visit marked the commencement of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore which have evolved into a “robust and multi-faceted” partnership.To commemorate this special occasion, Murmu and Shanmugaratnam unveiled a joint logo. “Singapore is a key pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ Policy and our vision of the Indo-Pacific,” the MEA said.”This visit follows an eventful year in India-Singapore bilateral relations, the hallmark of which was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore in September 2024,” it said.
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