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INDIA

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Year of establishment of diplomatic relations: 1965

The conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in June 2005 was a milestone in Singapore-India relations. Other highlights include the establishment of the Joint Ministerial Committee, the India-Singapore Strategic Dialogue and the hosting of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Global Indian Conference)-Singapore, the first overseas meeting of Non-Resident Indians in the region.

The momentum of bilateral relations has been sustained through high-level visits and interactions at various levels. These include visits by Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo in February 2009, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam in January 2009, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in March 2008, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in October and December 2007. Visits from India include those by Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee in June 2007, Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath in April 2008, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal both in October 2008.

Relations with India have been further buttressed by the launching of key initiatives, including the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) and India-Singapore Strategic Dialogue (ISSD) during Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee¡¯s official visit to Singapore. The JMC is the first institutionalised ministerial level bilateral mechanism. Co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers, the first JMC was convened in New Delhi in April 2008. It is aimed at taking stock of bilateral initiatives and identifying new areas of cooperation. The inaugural ISSD was held in Singapore in early May 2008. The second ISSD was held in New Delhi in early February 2009. This Track 2 initiative aims at enabling both sides to gain a better understanding of each other¡¯s views and positions on the global political, security and economic landscape. Singapore hosted the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) or Global Indian Diaspora conference in October 2008 in cooperation with the Indian government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). This annual conference is traditionally held in India every January and aims to link up overseas Indian communities and to bring their expertise and knowledge to India. The event was first held outside India in New York in 2007 followed by Singapore.

Singapore and India are mutually important economic partners. Bilateral economic ties have expanded since the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2005. Singapore is India's largest trading partner amongst the ASEAN countries and also India's gateway to ASEAN and East Asia. Bilateral trade continued to grow strongly reaching S$28.8 billion for 2008, a 20 percent increase from 2007. India was Singapore¡¯s 11th largest trading partner in 2008. Singapore's investment in 2007 stood at US$1.43 billion (figure from India's Ministry of Commerce), making Singapore India¡¯s second largest investor. Singapore was also India¡¯s 4th largest cumulative investor from 2000 to 2007, with cumulative investments of US$2.26 billion. Singapore investments in India are mostly in the areas of logistics, pharmaceuticals and infrastructure development.

2010

• Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence visited New Delhi, India from 18 to 20 May 2010. During the visit, he called on the Minister of Human Resource Development, Mr Kapil Sibal and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia. He also met the Indian National Security Advisor Mr Shivshankar Menon.

• Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang made a visit to New Delhi, India on 10 May 2010 to launch the 2nd Review of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).

• Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo visited Tamil Nadu, India from 5 to 9 May 2010. During the visit, he called on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr K Karunanidhi and Indian Minister of Home Affairs P Chidambaram.

• Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong made a visit to New Delhi, India from 18 to 20 March 2010. During the visit, Senior Minister Goh met with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Minister of External Affairs S M Krishna, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Ms Sushma Swaraj, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other Indian political leaders.

• Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrisnan visited New Delhi from 8 to 9 January 2010 to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Global Indian Diaspora). During the visit, Minister Vivian, who is Singapore¡¯s Co-Chair for the India-Singapore Parliamentary Forum (ISPF) met the Indian Co-Chair Mr Milind Deora as well as members of the Indian business community.

2009

• Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew made a visit to New Delhi, India from 14 to 17 December 2009. During the visit, he met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, as well as key Indian Ministers and business leaders.

• Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo visited Bodh Gaya from 19 to 21 February 2009 for the fifth Nalanda Mentor Group meeting.

• Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam visited Chennai from 7 to 9 January 2009 to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Overseas Indian Diaspora) conference. During his visit, Minister Shanmugam also met with the key political leaders in Chennai and the Singapore business community based there.

2008

• Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen visited Devlali from 24 to 28 November 2008 to observe Exercise Agni Warrior. Minister Ng also visited New Delhi, where he met Minister of Defence A K Antony and National Security Advisor M K Narayanan.

• Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited Bangalore from 18 to 21 November 2008, where he met the state's political leaders and business community.

• Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal visited Singapore for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Overseas Indian Diaspora) Singapore event held from 9 to 11 October 2008.

• Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang visited India from 22 to 26 June 2008 to discuss the roadmap for Singapore-India bilateral economic cooperation. During his visit, Minister Lim met Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath and then-Minister of Finance P Chidambaram.

• Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo visited India from 21 to 25 April 2008 to attend the first Joint Ministerial Committee meeting. Minister Yeo also visited Madhya Pradesh where he met the state¡¯s senior officials and business community.

• Mr Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Ms Ambika Soni, Minister of Tourism and Culture, visited Singapore for the India@60 event held from 4 to 7 April 2008. The event commemorated the 60th anniversary of India's independence. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was the Chief Guest at the India@60 Gala Dinner.

• Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong made an official visit to India from 23 to 28 March 2008. He visited New Delhi and Chandigarh, the capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. During his visit, Senior Minister Goh met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Minister of External Affairs, Indian Ministers and MPs, Governor of Punjab General (Retd) Sunith Francis Rodrigues, Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal, and Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Senior Minister Goh also met members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and business leaders.

• Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan visited India from 14 to 17 January 2008 to attend the CII Business Partnership Summit. He met Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, and Ms Ambika Soni, Minister of Tourism and Culture.
  

2007

• Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew visited New Delhi from 3 to 6 December 2007 to attend the Citi Asia Pacific Business Leaders Summit. While in New Delhi, he met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, political leaders, MPs and business leaders.

• Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew visited Mumbai and New Delhi from 28 October to 3 November 2007. In Mumbai. Minister Mentor Lee met the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Dr Y V Reddy, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh and business leaders. In New Delhi, Minister Mentor Lee met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress Party President Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.
  
  

• Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean made an official visit to India from 14 to 17 October 2007. During the visit, he met Minister of Defence A K Antony, Minister of Home Affairs Shivraj Patil and Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.

• Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs, made an official visit to Singapore from 18 to 20 June 2007, his first as External Affairs Minister. During the visit, Mr Mukherjee met President S R Nathan, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Deputy Prime Minister, Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Law Prof S Jayakumar, Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean. Mr Mukherjee delivered a public lecture on "India's Foreign Policy Priorities", jointly organised by the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies and the Institute of South Asian Studies. He also attended the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies' launch of Chalo Delhi, the 12th and final volume of the collected works of Subhas Chandra Bose.
  
  

• Deputy Prime Minister Prof S Jayakumar made a working visit to India from 13 to 17 March 2007 in his capacity as Coordinating Minister for National Security. He met Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Home Affairs Shivraj Patil, Minister of Defence A K Antony and National Security Adviser M K Narayanan. Deputy Prime Minister Jayakumar also visited the National Security Council Secretariat and other security agencies.

• Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Law Prof S Jayakumar visited New Delhi from 7 to 9 January 2007 to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as the Chief Guest of the Indian government. DPM Jayakumar met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Indian Ministers and the business community.

2006

• Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan led a group of parliamentarians to India from 16 to 22 March 2006 for the second India-Singapore Parliamentary Forum (ISPF). This was to reciprocate the inaugural visit to Singapore of a delegation of Indian parliamentarians in October 2005. In addition to other Indian parliamentarians, Minister Balakrishnan also met Speaker of the Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora, Minister of Finance P Chidambaram and Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath.

• Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, President of the Republic of India, made a State Visit to Singapore from 1 to 2 February 2006. President Kalam was accompanied by Members of Parliament Mr Vanlalzawma and Mr Sachin Pilot. During the visit, President Kalam called on President S R Nathan and met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo, Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean. As part of the visit, President Kalam delivered the 27th Singapore Lecture on 1 February 2006.

• Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong made a working visit to India from 14 to 20 January 2006. He visited Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Kolkata. Senior Minister Goh delivered a keynote address at the Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit in Kolkata on 20 January 2006. He also met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Indian Ministers and other political and business leaders.

• Mr Chandrababu Naidu, the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, visited Singapore as the 25th Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow from 3 to 10 January 2006. During his visit, Mr Naidu met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo, Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean and Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong. Mr Naidu also visited the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

2005

• Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew visited Hyderabad, Bangalore and New Delhi from 18 to 23 November 2005. Minister Mentor Lee delivered the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture on 21 November 2005 at the invitation of Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. He also met key leaders, including President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress Party President Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Minister of Finance P Chidambaram, Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath, Minister of Defence Pranab Mukherjee, Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, MPs, opinion makers and business leaders.

• Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited India from 28 to 30 June 2005. It was PM Lee's first visit to India as Prime Minister. He met President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekawat, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress Party President Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Minister of External Affairs Natwar Singh, Minister of Finance P Chidambaram, Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath, Leader of the Opposition L K Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty were signed during the visit. The India-Singapore Parliamentary Forum was also launched. Prime Minister Lee was hosted to a joint luncheon with the Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, where he delivered a keynote speech "Linking Up to a Rising Asia".

• Mr Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament), visited Singapore from 9 to 11 April 2005. During his visit, Mr Chatterjee called on Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Tarmugi and Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

• Dr Arun Shourie, Member of Rajya Sabha, visited Singapore as the 23rd Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow from 2 to 9 April 2005. During his visit, Dr Shourie called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Dr Shourie delivered talks organised by the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Institute of South Asian Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Singapore Press Club.

• Mr Arjun Singh, Minister of Human Resource Development, visited Singapore from 28 to 29 March 2005 at the invitation of Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Besides meeting Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo and Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Mr Arjun Singh also witnessed the signing of an MOU between NUS and IIT Bombay.

• Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang made an official visit to India from 8 to 10 March 2005 to meet political leaders. Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean also made an official visit to India in March. During his visit, Minister Teo held bilateral consultations with Minister of Defence Pranab Mukherjee and other senior Indian leaders. He also observed the inaugural bilateral exercise between the Singapore Army and the Indian Army.

• Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited Mumbai to attend and speak at the Third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Indian Diaspora Conference) in early January 2005. Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Dr Lee Boon Yang visited India at the invitation of the Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Culture S Jaipal Reddy in late January. During his visit, Dr Lee also attended the 11th Triennale India, an international visual arts event.