Singapore, India elevate ties to comprehensive strategic partnership as Indian PM Modi concludes visit

SINGAPORE: Singapore and India have agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level of a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” to deepen and broaden cooperation between the two countries.
The move came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up a two-day official visit to Singapore. He was due to depart the country on Thursday (Sep 5) evening, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement. 
In a Facebook post, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he had a “productive meeting” with his Indian counterpart on Thursday, as they set out a “forward-looking agenda” for the next stage of bilateral relations.
“We are also upgrading the Singapore-India Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” he said. 
“This is a timely move as we expand our partnership in new and mutually beneficial areas, and celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership next year.
“We look forward to strengthening our ties and creating new opportunities for our peoples.”
On Thursday, Mr Modi received a ceremonial welcome at Parliament House.
He also called on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and met Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. 
Mr Modi and Mr Tharman reaffirmed the longstanding relationship between both countries, and discussed India’s potential as a “leading centre of growth over the next decade, driven by both social and digital investments across the wide span of its population, as well as its new economic linkages”.
“They also discussed the potential for India and ASEAN to complement each other’s growth and build stronger supply chain linkages,” said MFA.
In a joint statement, Mr Wong congratulated Mr Modi on winning his third term, expressing his belief that India would continue on its “upward trajectory of development” and have an “increasingly greater role and position in the international arena” under Mr Modi’s leadership.
Mr Modi also congratulated Mr Wong for taking over as Singapore’s Prime Minister and said that under his stewardship, the country will continue to move forward and “remain a model of economic development for others”.
Mr Modi and Mr Wong also exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as regional and international developments. They welcomed the good progress in both countries’ cooperation in areas such as sustainability, digital technologies, advanced manufacturing, and connectivity.
They discussed potential collaborations in areas such as cross-border electricity trade and green ammonia supply chains, a joint flagship programme for skills training, enhancing cross-border data flows via the Gujarat International Finance and Tec-City (GIFT City), and cooperation in developing industrial parks in India.
They also witnessed four exchanges of government-to-government Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), including areas such as digital cooperation, education and skills development, health and medicine, and semiconductor ecosystem cooperation.
Both prime ministers welcomed the regular high-level visits and consultations between Singapore and India, and reaffirmed the importance of their deep and longstanding defence relationship built on close historical ties, shared strategic perspectives and common interests.
They recognised that bilateral business and commercial linkages constitute key drivers of the wide-ranging India-Singapore partnership, read the joint statement.
Mr Modi and Mr Wong reaffirmed the significance of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) signed in 2005, and reviewed in 2007 and 2018, for the economic partnership between the two countries. 
“They desired an early conclusion of the third review of CECA, which will ensure the agreement remains fit for the future economies of India and Singapore,” the joint statement said.
During Mr Modi’s trip, both prime ministers also expressed their convergence of views on regional and international issues.
They reaffirmed the importance of “maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, while pursuing the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), without resorting to the threat or use of force”, said the joint statement.
They also recognised that terrorism continues “to remain the single most significant threat to peace and stability and reiterated their strong commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”.