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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday concluded his three-day visit to Singapore, saying that it presented an opportunity to further deepen the strategic partnership between India and the Southeast Asian country.
During his Singapore visit on October 18, the EAM had several bilateral engagements with the leaders of the island-nation and senior ministers of the Cabinet. He was accompanied by the Secretary (East) and other senior officials from the Ministry. "EAM called on H.E. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore, and congratulated him on his recent election victory," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Jaishankar also paid a call to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, holding discussions on deepening bilateral engagement in key areas. "Both exchanged views on deepening engagement in the identified pillars of our cooperation, viz., fintech, digitalization, the green economy, skills development, and food security," the MEA added in its statement. The EAM also met the Minister and Coordinating Minister for national security, Teo Chee Hean. "EAM had a comprehensive discussion with H.E. Mr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on bilateral and global issues of mutual interest. He also met H.E. Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence," the MEA added. Both the ministers acknowledged the close bilateral defence engagement and reaffirmed the commitment to take it forward. Later, he had a productive meeting with the Minister of Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong, with the discussions centred on new domains of cooperation. He also met the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, K Shanmugam and exchanged views on strengthening the bilateral partnership between the two nations. "Happy to catch up with Minister of Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam today. Exchanged views on further strengthening our bilateral relations. Also on regional and global developments," Jaishankar posted on X. India and Singapore enjoy a historic relationship that was elevated to a strategic partnership in 2015. In 2023, both sides had several ministerial interactions on the sidelines of the G20 held under India's presidency, for which Singapore was invited as a guest country. (ANI)
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