Speech by S Minister Iswaran at the India and Singapore Stepping into the Future Business Event

SPEECH BY MINISTER-IN-CHARGE OF TRADE RELATIONS MR S ISWARAN AT THE “INDIA AND SINGAPORE STEPPING INTO THE FUTURE” BUSINESS EVENT, 31 MAY 2018, THURSDAY, 1915 HRS, MARINA BAY SANDS CONVENTION CENTRE, SINGAPORE​

Your Excellency, Shri Narendra Modi,

Prime Minister of the Republic of India;

Mr Jawed Ashraf, High Commissioner of India to Singapore;

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening.

Opening

1.                  Let me begin by extending a warm welcome to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his distinguished delegation to Singapore and today’s business event. During Prime Minister Modi’s last visit to Singapore in November 2015, we celebrated India and Singapore’s 50th anniversary of diplomatic and economic relations. We were also honoured to have Prime Minister Modi share his economic vision for India, as well as his aspirations for India and Singapore to pursue initiatives in Trade and Investment, Smart City Development and Urban Rejuvenation, and Connectivity.

Deeper Relations between India and Singapore

Trade and Investments

2.                  Today, I am pleased that India and Singapore’s economic relationship has continued to deepen – particularly in the areas that were identified by Prime Minister Modi in 2015.

3.                  In 2017, our bilateral trade in goods grew by an encouraging 14.6 percent to SGD 25 billion.  Singapore’s investments in India have also grown exponentially in the past decade and risen in recent years, from SGD 22.7 billion in 2014 to SGD 36.3 billion in 2016.

Smart City Development & Partnership with Indian States

4.                  Singapore continues to partner and collaborate with India in sectors of mutual benefit.  In connection with India’s “Smart Cities and Urban Rejuvenation” initiative, I am happy to share that the Maharashtra-Singapore Joint Committee (MSJC) was launched earlier this month.  This is the second Government-to-Government project we have undertaken in India, which will see the development of a master-plan to support the growth of the Pune Metropolitan Region, as well as downstream urban infrastructure projects.  This collaboration complements what Singapore is already doing in Andhra Pradesh, to develop the startup area of its new capital city, Amaravati.   

5.                  Singapore is also actively supporting Prime Minister Modi’s “Make in India” campaign to boost India’s manufacturing sector. Singapore companies like Tong Garden and Food Empire have made sizable investments to set up processing plants in states like Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

6.                  Singapore companies also support the “Make-in-India” effort by providing efficient and reliable logistics capabilities.  PSA’s container terminal at Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port was officially launched by Prime Minister Modi in February 2018.  When phase two of the USD 1.2 billion terminal is completed at the end of 2022, it will have an annual container handling capacity 4.8 million TEUs.  Companies like YCH Group and Ascendas-Singbridge are also planning to do more in India’s logistics and warehousing sector.

Connectivity

7.                  These heightened economic activities have further enhanced people-to-people connectivity between India and Singapore. One indicator is that India and Singapore's air connectivity, with around 528 weekly flights between India’s major metros and Tier 2 cities and Singapore, is operating at close to maximum capacity by most accounts.

8.                  India and Singapore are also making efforts to improve our overall people-to-people ties.  For example, an MOU (“Our India Ready Talent”) was signed in April 2017 between Enterprise Singapore, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and three Singapore Institutes of Higher Learning, to encourage young Singaporeans to take on work internships in India.  We want young Singaporeans to be ‘India Ready’ so that they can further strengthen our growing bilateral economic links.

India–Singapore Historical Ties as the Foundation

9.                  While we celebrate our current progress, it is equally important that we do not forget the deep historical ties between India and Singapore. We remember the contributions of early Indian traders and entrepreneurs in the Singapore of the 1800’s.  Not only have they contributed significantly to the economic growth and development of modern Singapore, they have also enriched our multi-cultural society.

10.              Singapore’s Indian community is a key node in the global Indian Diaspora, and its many facets and achievements are today remembered and celebrated at the Indian Heritage Centre in Singapore.  Many Indian-Singaporeans still retain strong ties to their ancestral homeland which also contribute to the growing economic, political, and cultural linkages between India and Singapore.

Looking Ahead – Elevating our Strategic Partnership

11.              We must also look ahead and build on these synergies and strengths.

Startups and Innovation

12.              For example, in line with the theme of today’s business event, there is significant potential for greater collaboration in the area of Startups and Innovation. India’s startup scene has boomed in the past decade and it is now the 3rd largest startup ecosystem globally. India is projected to have 10,000 startups by 2020. This tremendous growth, presents opportunities for collaborations and partnerships between Indian and Singapore startups.

13.              Earlier this evening, I had the pleasure of touring the innovation exhibition with Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.  The adoption of frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, as well as innovation for social impact, is a testament to the sheer scope for collaboration between India and Singapore in this exciting space.

14.              During his last visit, Prime Minister Modi said that “Singapore is an exciting incubator, and India is a vast laboratory”.  In that spirit, I am happy to share that we have been working closely to develop a Singapore-India Innovation Network, which aims to establish a series of innovation corridors between the vibrant technology ecosystem in Singapore and key innovation nodes within India.

15.              As part of this effort, Enterprise Singapore, in partnership with many players will soon launch the Singapore - India Incubation Programme (by Startup SG) to help Singapore startups access the India market with greater ease, and catalyse collaborations between the respective ecosystems for the joint creation and development of innovative solutions.  Similarly, the programme will facilitate Indian startups’ entry into Singapore’s ecosystem, and encourage them to use Singapore as a base to access the wider ASEAN market.

Digital Connectivity

16.              In the area of digital connectivity, India has made considerable advances through the implementation of the Aadhaar digital identification system under Prime Minister Modi’s Digital India initiative.  Singapore companies continue to contribute to India’s digitalisation in niche areas like e-payments security, smart city management, and e-commerce.

17.              One way to support this growth of digitalisation is to enhance integration between India and Singapore’s e-payments systems.  I am therefore glad that National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Singapore’s Network for Electronic Transfers (or NETS) are collaborating to facilitate cross-border payment solutions in both countries, starting with the acceptance of Ru-Pay cards by NETS. This means that, Indian nationals and tourists in Singapore will be able to use their domestic Ru-Pay cards to make electronic payments at NETS merchants across Singapore.

Closing

18.              Against this backdrop of a closer economic partnership and new areas of synergies, the prospects for future collaboration are bright.  In this respect, we look forward to hearing from Prime Minister Modi on his vision and plans for India’s growth trajectory, and the opportunities which our two countries can jointly pursue for mutual benefit.  It therefore gives me great pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Modi once again to Singapore, and to invite him on stage to deliver his address. 

19.              Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, please.