Jaishankar, Singapore's minister discuss global landscape, challenges

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held a meeting with Singapore's Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and discussed the "global landscape and its challenges".

Jaishankar posted on X, "Great to see Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean. Enjoyed our discussion on the current global landscape and its challenges."

Teo Chee Hean is the Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security.He currently oversees the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group, National Security Coordination Secretariat, National Population and Talent Division, and National Climate Change Secretariat under the Prime Minister's Office.

India and Singapore enjoy a historical relationship that was elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2015. In 2023, both sides had several Ministerial interactions on the sidelines of the G20 held under India's Presidency, for which Singapore was invited as a guest country, according to a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) press release.

Jaishankar is on an official visit to Singapore from October 19 to 20.

During his visit, Jaishankar will meet his Singaporean counterpart and the top leadership of the country. He will also chair the regional conference of Indian Heads of Missions.

Earlier today, Jaishankar also met Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong. The discussions between the two leaders centred around new domains of cooperation with long-term implications. Taking to X, Jaishankar stated, "Nice to meet Trade & Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong today morning. Our discussions centered around new domains of cooperation with long-term implications. Looking forward to developing these ideas at the ISMR meeting."

On Thursday, he also chaired the regional conference of ASEAN and East Asia Ambassadors in Singapore and discussions were held regarding the regional situation and its potential ramifications for India. "Chaired the regional conference of our ASEAN and East Asia Ambassadors today in Singapore. Our deliberations took stock of developments in the region and assessed their implications for India. Insights offered by our Ambassadors are valuable inputs into policy-making," Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Notably, the ties between India and Singapore are based on shared values and approaches, economic opportunities and convergence of interests on key issues. Both nations are members of a number of forums, including the East Asia Summit, G20, Commonwealth, Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)

Earlier in February, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore's Managing Director Ravi Menon officially launched the link between India's UPI and Singapore's PayNow was officially launched in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.