Singapore is an important pillar of India’s 'Act East’ policy: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that Singapore is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy as he met with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here.

Sharing a photograph of the meeting, Modi tweeted that he was ''delighted'' to meet Prime Minister Lee.

''We discussed boosting avenues of India-Singapore cooperation in sectors such as the green economy, renewable energy, FinTech and deepening trade relations. Singapore is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy,'' he said.

The 'Act East Policy' focuses on India's extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region.

Its objective is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, thereby, providing enhanced connectivity to the northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh, with other countries in India's neighbourhood.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a tweet said it was ''an excellent meeting'' between Modi and Lee.

The leaders ''discussed ways to further strengthen our bilateral ties, especially in areas of trade, fintech, green economy, skill development, digitalisation & sustainable growth,'' it said.

According to the High Commission of India in Singapore, FDI equity inflows in India from Singapore during 2021-22 stood at USD 15.87 billion. Singapore continued to be the largest source of FDI into India, with FDI inflows of USD 17.42 bn in 2020-21 despite the Covid situation.

Singapore is also amongst the largest sources of External Commercial Borrowings for India, it said.