India-Singapore economic ties: 4th joint working group meet reviews trade, explores new sectors; milestone year for partnership
0 2 min 11 mths


India-Singapore economic ties: 4th joint working group meet reviews trade, explores new sectors; milestone year for partnership

India and Singapore held the fourth meeting of their Joint Working Group on Trade & Investment (JWGTI) at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday, focusing on ways to deepen economic cooperation and identify fresh areas of collaboration. The meeting came a day after the third India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, marking a week of intensive bilateral engagement.Ministry of Commerce & Industry in a statement said the talks centred on expanding trade and investment links, aligning priority sectors, improving logistics and supply chain efficiency, simplifying regulations, and boosting cross-border trade facilitation. Progress in existing collaborationsโ€”such as work in the semiconductor sector and the digitalisation of trade processesโ€”was reviewed, while new opportunities in skills development, capacity building, and emerging industries were explored, according to ANI.The discussions were co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, and Beh Swan Gin, Permanent Secretary at Singaporeโ€™s Ministry of Trade and Industry. Agrawal noted that the partnership has moved beyond traditional trade frameworks, offering โ€œample opportunitiesโ€ for future cooperation.This year marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 20th anniversary of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)โ€”Indiaโ€™s first comprehensive trade pact with any nation and Singaporeโ€™s first such agreement with a South Asian country.Singapore remains Indiaโ€™s largest trading partner within ASEAN, with bilateral trade touching $34.26 billion in 2024-25. It is also the second-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment into India, contributing $163.85 billion (about Rs 11,24,509.65 crore) in equity inflows between April 2000 and July 2024, accounting for roughly 24% of cumulative FDI inflows.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *