Narendra Modi in Singapore: Aadhaar, FDI, maritime security emerge as common points as PM meets Lee Hsien Loong

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong to discuss bilateral ties. Modi, who arrived in Singapore on Thursday on a three-day visit, also called on Singapore President Halimah Yacob to discuss ways to strengthen maritime relations, trade policy and the exchange of technology between the two ASEAN nations. [caption id=“attachment_3033734” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file image of Narendra Modi and Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. PTI[/caption] Post the talks, the two prime ministers gave a joint public address on the important outcomes of the meet. Loong said that Singapore is interested in exploring the “India stack” of technology systems, Aadhaar and other digital transaction mechanisms introduced by the Modi government. He also said that public administration, cybersecurity and India’s engagement with ASEAN were the main agenda points of the meeting. The Singapore prime minister also remarked that he looks forward to hosting the Indian prime minister at the ASEAN meeting in November 2018. Meanwhile, Modi in his address said that India’s relations with Singapore were “warm, friendly and built on trust”. He remarked that he is happy to know that Indian companies have been using Singapore as a springboard to flourish international business. Modi also said that Singapore was a big source of Foreign Direct Income (FDI) for India and that India is open to renewing its air services agreement with Singapore. Modi announced that Singapore he has also launched a Digital India-themed platform in Singapore which includes components like the UPI platform and RuPay and BHIM cards through which Indian tourists will be able to do electronic payments at the Changi airport and selected operators across Singapore. According to ANI, Modi said that “the international launch of RuPay, BHIM and UPI based remittance app in Singapore, represents Digital India initiative and our renewed partnership”. Moreover, the maritime trade agreement was also discussed and better formalised. The two navies signed an agreement on logistics cooperation as Loong asserted that the defence ties between the two countries have strengthened. Modi announced that the two countries have also been able to successfully conclude the second review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, which has been under review for six years. On the infrastructure front, Loong announced that Singapore has recently launched Maharashtra-Singapore joint committee, to explore economic cooperation including planning and development of the Pune airport. Modi is in Singapore on the last leg of his three-nation tour. He earlier visited Indonesia and Malaysia while on a five-day visit to the ASEAN nations .