NEW DELHI: India and Singapore will celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2025 with a series of high-level visits, including that of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to India. President Shanmugaratnam’s upcoming visit to New Delhi and Odisha from January 14 to 18 will mark the first time in the last one decade that a Singaporean president has visited India. The visit underscores the deepening ties between the two nations, both diplomatically and economically. Singapore, often referred to as India’s window to the East, is also one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) for India.One of the two pacts on the table is skilling in semiconductors in Odisha, as both the sides look to step up economic ties and air connectivity. The pact will help India garner Singapore’s support in the areas of semiconductor fundamentals, processes, packaging and testing. The two countries are also looking at increasing the annual FDI, diplomatic sources said. Singapore’s investment makes up about 24 per cent of India’s FDI since 2000. Indian investment in Singapore is $25.3 billion.The two countries have a robust partnership in aviation and supply chain connectivity. Singapore played a vital role in India becoming a sectoral dialogue partner with Association of South East Asian Nations in 1992 and a full dialogue partner in 1996.Besides meeting President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shanmugaratnam is likely to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Health Minister JP Nadda, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development Jayant Chaudhary.He will travel to Bhubaneswar, meet Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and visit the Konark temple.
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