Building on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s theme of “smart cities” will be a key objective as Singapore’s Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam begins his India visit on Tuesday. Mr. Shanmugam is the latest in the string of high-profile visitors in Delhi wanting to engage with the new leadership, following close on the heels of Ministers from China, Russia and France, and just ahead of U.S. Senator John McCain and British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Sources said the five-day visit will be about “studying what are the priorities for the new government, while finding ways to elevate the India-Singapore bilateral relationship.” In particular, Mr. Shanmugam will speak about urban planning, water and waste management issues, where Singaporean expertise may be of use in India’s quest for renewing its city infrastructure, as also new ideas for strategic investment in infrastructure like the Mumbai port Singapore has contributed to.
Last week, after meeting Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Singapore High Commissioner to India Lim Thuan Kuan said, “India is like a fast train that everybody wants to get into.”
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Singapore is also India’s highest source of FDI, investing approx $ 6 billion here last year.
Mr. Shanmugam will meet the Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley while in Delhi. He will also travel to Hyderabad and Chennai where he will meet with Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.