PM Modi embarks on his visit to Brunei and Singapore

New Delhi| Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Brunei and Singapore on Tuesday morning. This is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei. PM Modi will visit Singapore on September 4. Before leaving for Brunei, Prime Minister Modi described India as an important partner in its ‘Act East’ policy and its vision for the Indo-Pacific and said that his visit will further strengthen the Indian partnership with both the countries as well as the broader ASEAN region.

“As we celebrate 40 years of our diplomatic relations, I look forward to my meetings with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other members of the royal family, to take our historic ties to new heights”, PM Modi said “I look forward to the opportunity to meet with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and retired Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong”, he said.

According to the Prime Minister, he will also meet leaders of Singapore’s business community. “I look forward to discussions to further deepen our strategic partnership with Singapore, particularly in the new and emerging areas of advanced manufacturing, digitalisation and sustainable development”, he said “Both countries (Singapore and Brunei) are important partners in our ‘Act East’ policy and vision for the Indo-Pacific”, he said. I am confident that my visits will further strengthen our partnership with Brunei, Singapore and the greater ASEAN region Singapore is India’s largest trading partner in ASEAN, the organization of South-East Asian Nations. It is also a major source of foreign direct investment.