From defense partnership to maritime security… know the benefits for India from PM Modi’s visit to Singapore, Brunei

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for a three-day visit to Brunei Darussalam and Singapore on Tuesday. India-Brunei Darussalam diplomatic relations have completed 40 years. On this occasion, Prime Minister Modi is arriving to meet Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam. PM Modi will leave for Singapore from Brunei on 4 September. After reaching there, he/she will meet Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and other senior leaders. Let us know what benefits India will get from PM Modi’s visit to Brunei and Singapore.

Defence ties with Brunei will be strengthened

Diplomatic relations between India and Brunei Darussalam were established in 1984. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the oil-rich country Brunei. During this visit of the PM, there will be a special emphasis on defense partnership. This is because both sides are keen to establish a joint working group in the defense sector. Officials said that India and Brunei are connected to each other in diverse areas of cooperation including defense, trade and investment, energy, space technology, health, capacity building, culture as well as people-to-people exchange.

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There are around 14,000 Indians in Brunei.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei paid state visits to India in 1992 and 2008. he/she also attended the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in 2012 and 2018. In 2018, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah was the chief guest of the Republic Day parade along with other ASEAN leaders. Currently, there are about 14,000 Indians living in Brunei. A large number of doctors and teachers in Brunei are from India. These people have earned goodwill and respect for their contribution to Brunei’s economy and society.

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Participated in Brunei Defense Exhibition

Defence relations between the two countries are expanding. This cooperation is through regular official level defence exchanges, visits of naval and coast guard ships, training and joint exercises, and participation in each other’s defence exhibitions/exhibitions, etc. Officials from the defence ministries of the two countries held a virtual meeting in January 2021. The MoU on Defence Cooperation was renewed for a period of five years in 2021. For the first time, two Indian defence companies, Bharat Electronics Limited and MKU Limited, participated in the Defence Industry Exhibition organised by the Brunei Armed Forces on the occasion of the 63rd Armed Forces Anniversary on June 1-2, 2024. Both sides are also expected to further enhance ties in the energy sector as well as enhance cooperation in the space sector.

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Focus on maritime security with Singapore

PM Modi will reach Singapore after Brunei. The Prime Minister will also participate in a business roundtable conference with Singapore industrialists here. During this, several MoUs are also expected to be signed in areas like food security, digitalization, skills, health, advanced manufacturing and connectivity. According to Foreign Ministry Secretary (East) Jaideep Majumdar, the Prime Minister’s visit to Singapore will also focus on discussions on maritime security. Majumdar said that Modi and his/her Singapore counterpart are likely to discuss the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), maritime security and the situation in Myanmar.

Strategic partnership was increased in 2015

he/she emphasised the convergence of views between India and Singapore to maintain safe, secure and free sea lines of communication. For Singapore, maintaining safe and secure sea lines of communication is equally important. So, these issues will undoubtedly be discussed. Singapore is India’s largest ASEAN trading partner. Also the largest source of FDI, which stood at $11.77 billion in FY24. India and Singapore last elevated ties to a strategic partnership in 2015.