Indian scholars have been increasingly participating in the Singapore economy, says SICCI chairman
Youths and students are part of the biggest bridge being built between India and the rest of the world, High Commissioner Dr Shilpak Ambule told delegates at a conference held in Singapore on 22 Aug.
“Youths and students, I think, they’re the biggest bridge today between Indians in the world,” the envoy said at “The Straits Connect” organized by the Indian Scholars’ Association in Singapore.
“The number of students studying in Singapore universities and institutions has increased in the last 3 to 4 years,” he said, noting that some of them have studied, worked and prosperous as entrepreneurs in the city state as well as elsewhere in the world.
Dr Ambule also highlighted the growing number of startups going global and participating in Singapore hackathon events.
“We are trying to see if we can get startups in different sectors in India to come to Singapore at one point,” he said, adding that a major hackathon will be organized here in November.
The envoy also shared with the delegates a wide range of agreements reached and setting up the pace of building on already highly-intensive collaborations at the 4th India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable concluded on 20 Aug.
Singapore-based investors and Indian businesses were further building on a wide range of collaborations, including green energy and startups which will put young innovators from India in the new era of global economy, he pointed out.
“We are trying to do more for expanding areas of collaboration,” he underlined.
The biggest advantage India and Singapore have is that there are no big issues between the two countries, and the political leaderships of both nations are committed to deepen and strengthen further the focused relationship, covering economic and people to people connections, said Dr Ambule.
ISA president Rahul Singh added that the inaugural conference has built an international bridge between Singapore and India.
“As an association whose alumni have roots in India and spent formative years in Singapore, we believe we are uniquely positioned to deepen understanding, trust, and collaboration between the two nations across business, academia, culture, entrepreneurship, and public life,” he said.
He pointed out that ISA has been providing mentorship to startups and students at the last Singapore Indian Hackathon held in 2023 at IIT Gandhinagar as a special initiative under India’s G20 Presidency.
“The Indian scholars have been increasingly participating in the Singapore economy and we welcome them to be among the leaders of Singapore Indian business community,” said Rajakumar Chandra, recently appointed Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“The integration of the Indian scholars with local Indian business community will definitely create a bigger pool of entrepreneurs and professionals boosting working relationship between India and Singapore as well as global markets,” he said.
Conference co-chair Purnima Kamath noted “over 900 past and present members of the 30-year-old ISA have contributed to global economy as executives and business leaders of businesses”.
She said it took one year to pool together resources and connect ISA alumni and current members in celebrating 30 years of ISA, reflecting how the Indian graduates have integrated into corporate world and become leading entrepreneurs setting up market trends. The conference was attended by more than 350 delegates including Singapore-based business leaders.
It was also a first time ever that three Indian-origin diplomats were part of an international conference. The British and Canadian High Commissioners in Singapore, Nik Mehta and Paul James Thoppil, along with Dr Ambule, addressed the gathering and interacted with the ISA community. Singapore’s former Ambassador and diplomat Professor Kishore Mahbubani, who has served as the United Nations Security Council President in 2001-2002, spoke about the current global affairs. Fiinews.com
