Sitharaman meets Singapore PM Lawrence Wong, discusses boosting bilateral partnership

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday met Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and discussed further strengthening bilateral cooperation.

The two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen economic, financial, investment and business ties, with Sitharaman, sharing select projects from the NIIF Official pipeline and highlighting India’s strong economic fundamentals to encourage greater investment by Singapore-based investors, as per the statement issued by Finance Ministry.

They reviewed progress in advancing the outcomes of the 4th India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), including cooperation in capital markets, payments connectivity and digitalisation, semiconductors, AI and cybersecurity. Discussions also covered tokenisation of financial assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), with Singapore expressing keenness to share its experience in asset tokenisation.

According to the Finance Ministry statement, the two Ministers also exchanged views on regional and global developments and on strengthening India-ASEAN cooperation, including in the run-up to Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027.

PM Lawrence Wong noted that bilateral cooperation between India and Singapore continues to grow and expressed optimism about India’s growth prospects.

In addition, Sitharaman also met Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore. The two exchanged views on the prevailing geopolitical situation and global economic headwinds impacting equity, bonds and FX markets, and discussed India’s economic performance, GDP growth, FDI trends, foreign exchange reserves and ongoing policy reforms.

Sitharaman reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to sustaining the reform momentum and pursuing macroeconomic policies that support inclusive growth and price stability. Discussions also covered opportunities for cooperation in semiconductors, AI, data centres, tokenisation and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Both sides welcomed collaboration between their respective central banks on emerging technologies. The Finance Minister also mentioned the list of select infrastructure projects prepared for consideration by Singaporean investors, including GIC and Temasek, highlighting the potential to further strengthen bilateral investment ties.