New Delhi, September 2, 2025 – Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong arrives in India today for a three-day official visit from September 2-4, marking his first trip to the country since assuming office in May 2024. This high-profile engagement also marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore. PM Wong, who was re-elected following his People’s Action Party’s victory in the May 2025 general elections, is set to hold wide-ranging discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, focusing on enhancing cooperation in trade, technology, defense, and emerging sectors like fintech and green energy. Expectations are high for new agreements in semiconductors, digital innovation, and sustainable development.
PM Wong’s itinerary includes bilateral talks in New Delhi, meetings with President Droupadi Murmu, and interactions with business leaders. The visit follows a flurry of reciprocal visits, including PM Modi’s trip to Singapore in September 2024, where relations were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During that visit, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed in semiconductor ecosystems, digital technologies, healthcare, and skills development, accompanied by a joint statement outlining shared visions for the future.
Last one year has seen unprecedented momentum in bilateral ties. Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam made a state visit to India in January 2025, accompanied by key ministers, leading to MoUs in skills, green energy, and industrial parks during his stop in Odisha. In August 2025, six Singaporean ministers, led by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, participated in the third round of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) in India. From the Indian side, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Singapore twice, alongside ministers for Commerce and Industry, Education, Ports, Shipping & Waterways, and Electronics & IT. Chief Ministers from Odisha, Telangana, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh have travelled to Singapore, fostering sub-national collaborations.
Singapore serves as a vital pillar in India’s Act East Policy, facilitating deeper engagement with ASEAN. As ASEAN’s Country Coordinator for India from 2021-2024, Singapore played a pivotal role in upgrading India-ASEAN relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Rooted in historic commercial, cultural, and people-to-people links, India-Singapore relations date back to India’s early recognition of Singapore’s independence in 1965. Today, economic cooperation forms the bedrock of this partnership. Bilateral trade has surged from USD 6.7 billion in FY 2004-05 to USD 34 billion in FY 2024-25, making Singapore India’s sixth-largest trade partner with a about 3% share of overall trade. Singapore’s role as a financial hub is evident in its status as India’s top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In FY 2024-25 alone, FDI inflows from Singapore reached about USD15 billion, accounting for 24% of India’s total FDI.
In 2025, ten Indian Navy ships visited Singapore for goodwill and operational purposes, including recent calls by INS Delhi, Satpura, Shakti, and Kiltan. Science and technology collaboration is equally vibrant. India’s ISRO has launched multiple Singaporean satellites, including Singapore’s first indigenous micro-satellite in 2011 and nine in 2023.
Cultural exchanges thrive through performing arts, theater, museums, and youth programs, while the Indian diaspora—comprising 9% of Singapore’s resident population and around 380,000 expatriates—strengthens people-to-people bonds. Singapore boasts the highest concentration of IIT and IIM alumni outside India, with Tamil as one of its four official languages.