Sitharaman, Goyal in Singapore with 70-strong business delegation for 4th ministerial roundtable

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has traveled to Singapore on an official visit alongside a ministerial delegation to attend the 4th India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR). The delegation includes external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, and minister of state for electronics & IT and commerce & industry Jitin Prasada,

In a post on X, Sitharaman said the ISMR, established in 2022, serves as a vital high-level economic mechanism between the two nations. The platform enables both sides to review ongoing progress and identify new opportunities for cooperation across six core pillars: advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalisation, healthcare and medicine, skills development, and sustainability.

“The 4th ISMR will build on the progress made under these pillars and explore new opportunities to further strengthen the India-Singapore economic partnership,” she said.

Separately, the commerce ministry said Goyal is visiting Singapore from 19-21 August as part of continued high-level engagement under the ISMR framework. An Indian business delegation comprising around 70 senior business leaders from diverse sectors is visiting Singapore with Goyal to strengthen economic and commercial ties between the two countries.

The delegation includes representatives from technology, software and artificial intelligence (AI), manufacturing and engineering, infrastructure and sustainability, financial services and fintech, healthcare and life sciences, food and agriculture, logistics, maritime and trade, and professional services.

The visit will feature business-to-business, government-to-business, and institutional meetings, alongside visits to Singapore’s leading centres of excellence and skilling hubs. These engagements will focus on building partnerships, driving investment, expanding market access, fostering technology collaborations, and developing talent.

Bilateral engagements

Goyal will participate in the ISMR roundtable on 20 August alongside Sitharaman, Jaishankar, and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister of railways, information and broadcasting, and electronics and information technology. Held in parallel with the 4th India-Singapore Business Roundtable, the session will be followed by an memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony and a lunch hosted by the deputy prime minister of Singapore for all ISMR and ISBR delegates. During the visit, the ministers will engage with their Singaporean counterparts and other senior Singaporean leadership. Goyal will also call on Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Istana.

On the sidelines, Goyal will hold a series of government-to-business engagements with senior representatives from the Global Finance & Technology Network, YPO Global, Milken Institute, Keppel Infrastructure, Temasek Holdings, and IHH Healthcare, alongside Turner & Townsend, STT GDC, and a delegation led by the Singapore Business Federation chairman. A family office roundtable will follow these engagements.

Goyal will also join Gan Siow Huang, Singapore’s minister of state for foreign affairs and trade & industry, on a joint visit to an APEDA-FairPrice initiative at City Square Mall. The initiative aims to promote Indian agri-food exports and strengthen their presence in Singapore’s retail market, reflecting deepening agri-trade links between the two nations.

At the INSEAD Asia Campus, Goyal will participate in the India-Singapore Business Forum organized by FICCI, featuring in a fireside chat titled ‘India in the New Global Growth Equation: Growth and Opportunity for Businesses in Asia and the World’, followed by a networking dinner with the Indian and Singaporean business community.

The visit will conclude at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, where Goyal will deliver a keynote address at the ICAI ASEAN Conference 2026.

Robust economic ties

Singapore remains a vital economic partner and a major source of foreign investment for India. In FY 2025-26, it emerged as India’s top source of foreign direct investment (FDI), with inflows reaching $19.8 billion. Between April 2000 and March 2026, cumulative FDI inflows from Singapore touched $194.68 billion, representing 24.72% of India’s overall FDI receipts.

Bilateral trade between the two nations has grown significantly since the signing of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in June 2005, climbing from $6.7 billion in FY05 to $36.1 billion in FY26.

Singapore is also India’s largest trading partner within ASEAN, while serving as a crucial source of both foreign portfolio investment and external commercial borrowings.