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Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Singapore for the 4th India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) and the 4th India-Singapore Business Roundtable (ISBR), with the two sides looking to further deepen trade, investment and economic ties.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada will also be part of the Indian delegation. Around 70 senior Indian business leaders representing diverse sectors will accompany the ministerial delegation for a series of B2B, G2B and institutional engagements. The delegation will comprise representatives from technology, software and artificial intelligence, manufacturing and engineering, infrastructure and sustainability, financial services and fintech, healthcare and life sciences, food and agriculture, logistics, maritime and trade, and professional services. The fourth ISMR, scheduled to be held on August 20, will review the progress made since the third roundtable in New Delhi in August 2025 and identify new avenues to accelerate the implementation of the Singapore-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Roadmap, according to a joint statement issued by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry. The ISMR is the apex ministerial mechanism for advancing the India-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Singapore's delegation will be led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and will include senior ministers responsible for national security, home affairs, foreign affairs, digital development and transport. The Indian ministers are scheduled to engage with their Singaporean counterparts and other senior Singaporean leaders. They will also call on Singapore Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong and attend a lunch hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Gan. The business delegation will focus on strengthening partnerships, promoting investment and market access, enhancing technology collaboration and developing talent. The programme will also include interactions with Centres of Excellence and visits to skilling institutions. During the visit, ministers will hold government-to-business engagements with representatives of the Global Finance & Technology Network, YPO Global, Milken Institute, Keppel Infrastructure, Temasek Holdings, IHH Healthcare and other business organisations. The engagements will be followed by a Family Office Roundtable. They will also jointly visit an APEDA-FairPrice initiative at City Square Mall aimed at promoting Indian agri-food exports and strengthening the presence of Indian products in Singapore's retail market. Singapore emerged as India's largest source of foreign direct investment in FY2025-26, with FDI inflows of USD 19.8 billion. Cumulative FDI from Singapore stood at USD 194.68 billion between April 2000 and March 2026, according to the Commerce Ministry. Bilateral trade between India and Singapore has also witnessed significant growth, rising from USD 6.7 billion in FY2004-05 to USD 36.1 billion in FY2025-26, the ministry said. (ANI)
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