PM Modi calls Singapore 'a gateway of India to the east'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday termed Singapore as a "Gateway of India to the east".

While addressing the audience at Shangri-La hotel in Singapore, Prime Minister Modi said both India and Singapore share multilateral ties in the fields of religion, culture, art and commerce, language and literature.

Prime Minister Modi further said, "Singapore is our springboard to Association of Southeast Asian Nations. India and Singapore became dialogue and strategic partners of ASEAN."

Further mentioning the importance of maritime relations between the two countries, the Prime Minister said, "Singapore shows when the seas are open, seas are secure and the countries are connected, the rule of law prevails, and the region is stable, nations small and large. India has the longest uninterrupted river exercise in Singapore."

On the same note, he described India, Singaporean relations as 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

He further focused on the north-eastern region of the country and said, "We recognize our north-east as the maritime partner to the south-east."

Prime Minister Modi is now scheduled to attend a dinner hosted by Singapore's counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at the Island Ballroom of the Shangri-La hotel.

The Prime Minister is on a five-day three-nation visit to Southeast Asian nations- Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.