After concluding his visit to Brunei, Modi will travel to Singapore to review progress of India-Singapore Strategic Partnership…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be making official visits to Brunei and Singapore from Tuesday to Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
It will be the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian PM to Brunei. Modi will be visiting Brunei from September 3-4 at the invitation of Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
“Shri Narendra Modi, at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, is scheduled to visit Brunei Darussalam during 03-04 September 2024. This will be the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei. The visit coincides with 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Brunei,” MEA announced in a press release.
Brunei is an important partner in India’s ‘Act East’ Policy and its vision of the Indo-Pacific. Modi’s visit will further strengthen India’s cooperation with Brunei in all existing sectors, including defence cooperation, trade and investment, energy, space technology, health cooperation, capacity building, culture and people-to-people exchanges and explore avenues for cooperation in newer sectors, according to MEA press release.
After concluding his visit to Brunei, Modi will travel to Singapore from September 4-5. He will be visiting Singapore at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong.
During the visit, the two leaders will review the progress of the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
In a press release, MEA stated, “During the visit, Prime Minister will call on President of Singapore H.E. Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam and interact with Singaporean leadership. Prime Minister will also meet with business leaders from Singapore.
“These visits will further strengthen India’s cooperation with Brunei and Singapore both bilaterally and within the regional and multilateral frameworks,” it added.
On August 26, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw participated in the second India-Singapore Ministerial Dialogue (ISMR).
The two nations explored cooperation in digital, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity and advanced manufacturing.
Taking to X, Jaishankar stated, “A productive 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable today. We explored cooperation in digital, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity and advanced manufacturing. Thank DPM Gan Kim Yong, FM @VivianBala, Home Affairs & Law Minister @kshanmugam, Digital Development and Information Minister @joteo_ylm, Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng and Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat for their commitment to deepening our relationship. ISMR enables the emergence of a more contemporary partnership.”
EAM Jaishankar along with Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman and Ashwini Vaishnaw called on Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Jaishankar said that he valued Shanmugaratnam’s guidance on ways to further take forward the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership.
In a post on X, he said, “Honored to jointly call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam of Singapore. Conveyed the warm greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Value his guidance on ways to further take forward the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership.”
Jaishankar and other union ministers also called on Singapore PM Lawrence Wong. In a post on X, he said, “Delighted to call on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of Singapore today morning along with my colleagues Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw. We conveyed the warm greetings of PM, Narendra Modi. Appreciate PM Wong’s continued engagement with the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable.”
Ex-Singapore diplomat bats for India at UNSC
The United Nations Security Council needs urgent reforms and India should get its rightful place as a permanent member of the top UN body, says former Singapore diplomat professor Kishore Mahbubani.
Mahbubani talked about the much-needed reforms in the United Nations, saying that he believes the United Kingdom should give up its permanent seat at the UN Security Council (UNSC) for India. “There is absolutely no question that India is the third-most powerful country in the world today after the United States and China. And that Great Britain is no longer ‘great’,” he said.
Explaining why the UK should relinquish its seat, Mahbubani mentioned that the UK has not used its veto power for decades, fearing backlash. “So, the logical thing for the UK to do is give up its seat to India,” he said.
Speaking on the UN reforms, he said the founders of the UN ensured that all great powers of the time had vested interests in the organisation in order to make it work. “The lesson that (UN’s founders) learned from the collapse of the League of Nations early in the 20th century is that if a great power leaves, the organisation collapses,” the former diplomat said.
“But they also believed that you must have the great powers of today, not the great powers of yesterday. Unfortunately, they didn’t create a mechanism for changing the seats,” he said.
“Another reason for the UK to give up its seat is that it will free them up to act independently,” he said.
ALSO READ: PM Modi formally invited to SCO meeting in Islamabad
