Lawrence Wong to make first visit to India as PM, meet Modi in New Delhi
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will also meet overseas Singaporeans at a reception in the Indian capital.
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo on Sep 4, 2024. (Photo: MDDI/Betty Chua)
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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit India from Sep 2 to Sep 4 and meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
This is Mr Wong’s first visit to India as prime minister. It coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India.
His visit reaffirms both countries’ mutual commitment to strengthen ties, Singapore’s Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Tuesday (Sep 2).
Mr Wong's visit to India was made at Mr Modi's invitation. It comes a year after Mr Modi’s trip to Singapore in September 2024, during which Singapore and India agreed to elevate relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
This time, Mr Wong will call on Indian President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi and meet with Mr Modi, who will also host him to a banquet lunch.
Mr Wong, who is also finance minister, will meet other Indian ministers and visit the Raj Ghat memorial to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement.
He will attend a reception with overseas Singaporeans in the Indian capital, and engage a group of Indian business leaders in a closed-door roundtable session.
Three office holders will accompany him: Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan; Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow; and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang.
Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Digital Development and Information will also be part of the delegation.
During Mr Wong’s absence, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam will be the acting prime minister.
Mr Wong’s visit follows President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s state visit to India in January and the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable in August, where Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong led Singapore’s delegation.
Singapore is India’s leading source of foreign direct investment and India’s sixth-largest trading partner.
Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1965, signed a free trade agreement in 2005 and established a Strategic Partnership in 2015.
