High Commissioner reports on CSP Roadmap progress
Singapore and India have a strong and multifaceted economic partnership that is anchored by strong bilateral trade and investment links, a Singaporean Minister said here on 15 May.
“Our governments have also established partnerships to support economic cooperation. The India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) is a type of platform that allows high-level, Ministerial discussion on areas that we believe will help us strengthen the trade and investment between both countries,” said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang at a forum on the future of the two countries partnerships at the 2nd India-Singapore Futures Forum.
“India is one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, while Singapore serves as a trusted global hub connecting companies, capital, talent and ideas,” noted the Minister in her keynote address at the forum, organized by the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), a think tank of the National University of Singapore.
Gan highlighted that the two countries possess complementary strengths and, together, they are well-positioned to do more in areas such as Digitalisation, Sustainability, Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare & Medicine, Skills Development, and Connectivity.
Partnerships are equally important in advancing innovation, stressed the Minister, citing example of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) partnership signed in December 2025 with the Government of Odisha and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Bhubaneswar to launch a five-year, SGD10 million, collaboration to pilot and test sustainable energy technologies.
She also called for international cooperation to accelerate the transition towards low-carbon energy systems while balancing sustainability, energy security and affordability. “No country can successfully tackle climate change or navigate the energy transition alone. Partnerships enable us to share expertise, develop common standards and also to scale solutions that would be difficult to achieve in isolation,” Gan elaborated.
She cited the example of Singapore-India Green and Digital Shipping Corridor which was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in September 2025 in Delhi. “Under this initiative, Singapore and India will work with industry partners to support the maritime sector’s transition to zero or near-zero emission fuels while strengthening digitalisation across supply chains,” Gan said.
“Singapore and India are also exploring cooperation under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement to support emissions reduction projects and facilitate the development of high-quality carbon credits,” the Singapore Minister informed the forum delegates.
Beyond government cooperation, businesses and research institutions from both Singapore and India are increasingly engaging one another on sustainability and climate innovation.
She cited the example of how Singaporean companies such as Sembcorp Industries are supporting India’s decarbonisation efforts through renewable energy investments across 13 Indian states, with a renewables portfolio of about 7.6GW.
The energy transition is not only a technological challenge, but also an economic one that we are all faced with. Platforms like today’s forum matter because solutions usually do not come from a single sector alone. “The Government certainly not by ourselves, the industry not by themselves, and academics and researchers cannot do this on their own,” she said.
In his address to the forum, High Commissioner of India to Singapore, Dr Shilpak Ambule, said that a considerable progress has been has been made on several fronts through the India-Singapore roadmap for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
In the last two years, Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh have visited Singapore to strengthen economic ties with the city state which is also the biggest foreign direct investment generation hub for India. “These exchanges signify how Indian states have become important stakeholders in India-Singapore relations,” underscored the envoy.
He also highlighted Gan having inaugurated India office of Singapore Business Federation in Bengaluru last November. This is SBF’s first office in India, signifying growing interest among Singaporean companies to develop ties with India.
Further, the High Commissioner informed that both countries have reiterated their commitment to work closer on the challenges of terrorism and transnational crime at the 5th meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes which was held on May 7 in New Delhi. “We sincerely appreciate Singapore’s support in our fight against the cross-border terrorism.”
He pointed out that Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC announced last week a fresh round of investment in Indian space startup, Skyroot. This round of funding raised Skyroot’s valuation to around USD1.1 billion, making it first Indian space sector unicorn. “Such investments signal the high level of comfort that Singaporean investors have with India and potential that they see in the India growth story.”
He highlighted that a high-level Indian government and business delegation participated in the Singapore Maritime Week 2026. Both sides are working on implementing the agreement of establishing Green and Digital Shipping Corridors between Indian ports and Singapore.
“In the last one year, we have worked with Singapore in all possible areas under the CSP Roadmap, be it AI, Semiconductors, Skilling, Investments, Defence, Maritime Connectivity and so on,” said the envoy. “Our endeavor this year is to maintain the momentum, keep the dialogue going and make progress on various ongoing initiatives.”
The High Commissioner stressed that the India-Singapore Futures Forum is an important platform for contributing to this ongoing dialogue, involving both public and private sector stakeholders from both sides.
“We strive to work with our Singaporean partners to maintain this faith and realize the potential of India-Singapore partnership,” he emphasized. Fiinews.com
