Ahead of his first-ever bilateral visit to Brunei, PM Modi said that his meeting with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other members of the Royal family will advance the historical relationship between the two countries to new heights.
PM Modi said, “Today, I am embarking on a first ever bilateral visit to Brunei Darussalam. As we celebrate the 40 years of our diplomatic relations, I look forward to my meetings with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other esteemed members of the Royal family to advance our historical relationship to new heights.”
The visit will further strengthen our cooperation with Brunei in all existing sectors including defence cooperation, trade & investment, energy, space technology, health cooperation, capacity building, culture as well as people-to-people exchanges and explore avenues for cooperation in newer sectors.
After Brunei, PM Modi will travel to Singapore on Wednesday where he will meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
In Singapore, the leaders will review the progress of India–Singapore Strategic Partnership and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. Prime Minister will also meet with business leaders from Singapore.
“I look forward to my discussions to deepen our Strategic Partnership with Singapore, particularly in new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing, digitalization, and sustainable development,” the Prime Minister said.
“Both countries are important partners in our Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific Vision. I am confident that my visits would further strengthen our partnership with Brunei, Singapore and the larger ASEAN region,” he added.
What’s on Agenda?
Ahead of Prime Minister’s visit to Brunei, Secretary East in the MEA, Jaideep Mazumdar said that PM Modi is expected to hold a bilateral discussion on several aspects including defence, trade and investment, energy, space, technology, health, capacity building, culture and vibrant people-to-people exchanges.
“During the visit, Prime Minister will engage in bilateral discussions on all aspects of our bilateral relations and cooperation with Brunei and also explore new areas for cooperation. We share a very warm and friendly relationship with Brunei and our engagements cover multiple areas such as defence, trade and investment, energy, space, technology, health, capacity building, culture and vibrant people-to-people exchanges,” Mazmudar said.
He also said that there are three MOUs in space field and for the defence India is working towards establishing a joint working group for cooperation.
“Defence is another important pillar in our bilateral cooperation. We have an MoU on defence, which was signed in 2016 and has since been renewed in 2021. It provides a framework for our collaboration that covers regular exchanges at high levels, naval and coast guard ship exchange visits, training and joint exercises, and participation in each other’s exhibitions. We are also working towards establishing a joint working group for cooperation in the area of defence… ” he added.
The MEA official added that Brunei is an important partner for India’s ‘Act East Policy’ and the vision for the Indo-Pacific.
On the SIngapore visit, the MEA official said that the Prime Minister is visiting Singapore after 6 years and this trip is coinciding with the time when a new leader in Singapore, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, has just taken over and this is an opportune time to set the stage for the next stage of the vibrant bilateral relationship.
“Our ties have evolved and we have a dynamic strategic partnership encompassing diverse areas from our shared history and people-to-people ties, which is an important link between us. Our trade and investment flows have shown steady growth, we have robust defence cooperation and growing exchanges in culture and education and we have identified new anchors of our partnership under the India-Singapore Ministerial Round Table framework. The visit will also take place in light of our 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, which we are celebrating in 2025 and the 10th year of our strategic partnership with Singapore … ” he said.
On what can be expected over India and Singapore semi-conductors cooperation during PM Modi’s upcoming Singapore visit, Secretary East in the MEA said, “Yes. Singapore is very well plugged into the global semiconductor ecosystem. It has experience of more than 20 years in this area. This is an area that we are very keen to get into, and already we are seeing how we can cooperate with Singapore. If Singapore is already setting up facilities in India and there will be many other areas of the semiconductor itself which will be discussed and cooperation moved forward during the visit, we expect the visit to give thrust to this particular area in our cooperation…”
The MEA official also said that from the point of trade and investment, the Prime Minister’s visit to Singapore is significant. Singapore is India’s largest trading partner in Asean. Singapore is India’s 6th largest trade partner worldwide and the largest source of FDI during the last financial year.