The close relationship shared by India and Singapore is based on the convergence of economic and political interests. The process of economic reforms in India since the early 1990s created a strong basis for cooperation with Singapore, opening up possibilities for a significant presence in each other's economies. For India, Singapore has played an important role in reconnecting us to the countries of South East Asia since the inception of our Look East Policy in the early 1990s. As pluralistic societies, the two countries share a similar concern about the challenges posed by terrorism and fundamentalism and have, therefore, found it mutually beneficial to evolve a broad framework of security cooperation.

In the 1990s, after India opened up her economy, Goh (the PM of Singapore) made two visits in successive years. The then Prime Minister, PV Narasimha Rao, returned the visit as part of New Delhi’s ‘Look East’ poli­cy. As a result of those exchanges and a growing India-Southeast Asia interaction, New Delhi gained a dialogue partnership with ASEAN in 1996. President K.R. Narayanan visited Singapore on November 11, 2000. Singapore Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong’s visit was the first by any Head of State from India after a gap of nearly three decades. During the visit, discussions were held on bilateral matters and the recent developments in the ASEAN region.

Reasons for changing attitude

• India offers a huge market. Though China remains the preferred option for Singapore, there are many problems in that market and system. Investments in Vietnam have been fruitless with foreign investors still hesitant to get in a big way. Indonesia is still on fire and Singapore’s investments there are locked up. South Africa has not been shaped as an attractive investment destination as yet. So, India remains the best option for Singapore and its investors.
• Singapore wants to capitalize on India’s vast potential for software experts and take advantage of the expertise available to them such as a closer home. Information Technology is the password that opened all the doors for India and Singapore was no exception.
• Agreements concluded between India and Singapore reflect the breadth of cooperation between the two Governments, economies, and civil societies. Key agreements include

1. Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, CECA (2005)
2. Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, DTAA (1994)
3. Bilateral Air Services Agreement (1968)
4. Defence Cooperation Agreement (2003)
5. MOU on Foreign Office Consultations (1994)
6. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (2005).

• India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Agreement (CECA) has four key components:

1. FTA in goods
2. An arrangement for boosting trade in services including financial services
3. A package to promote investment flows and provide mutual investment protection
4. A new agreement for avoiding double taxation

• CECA also includes

1. Mutual Recognition Agreements on quality certification of goods and services
2. Liberalized visa rules for professionals
3. Undertaking to cooperate in several sectors like customs, dispute settlement, intellectual property rights, education, and e-commerce

• The Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) is at the apex of the expanded bilateral dialogue architecture at the Governmental level and is chaired at the level of the External Affairs Minister/Foreign Minister. Regular Foreign Office Consultations have taken place since 1999. The India-Singapore Strategic Dialogue constituted in 2007, is meant to promote exchanges at the Track-II level and is led by CII and the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS).
• Ethnic Indians constitute about 9.1 percent of the total population of 5.4 million, including permanent residents [Source: Singapore Department of Statistics, 2013]. Tamil is one of the four official languages of Singapore. There are about 150,000 migrant workers in Singapore.

Recent Developments

5-S Plank

• In 2014, India's EAM visited Singapore. During the visit, five areas of collaboration were identified to strengthen bilateral ties, known as 5-S Plank which includes

1. scaling up trade and investment
2. speeding up connectivity
3. smart cities and urban rejuvenation
4. skill development
5. state focus

Join Military Exercises

1. SIMBEX (Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise)
2. SITMEX (Singapore-India-Thailand Maritime Exercise)

Bilateral agreements signed in the area of defence

1. Air Force Bilateral Agreement signed in 2007
2. Army Bilateral Agreement signed in 2008

• During the recent Defence Ministers' meet a bilateral agreement for naval cooperation between India and Singapore was signed which allows Indian navy ships to receive logistical assistance, including refueling, at Singapore's Changi naval base, which is located near the disputed South China Sea. It includes greater maritime security cooperation, joint exercises, temporary deployment in each other's naval facilities, and mutual logistics assistance.

Economic Cooperation

• Singapore is among India's largest trade and investment partners in ASEAN and accounted for 27.3% of India's overall trade with ASEAN in 2021-22. Over the last 20 years, the total investment into India from Singapore is almost 136.563 billion and accounts for nearly 23% of the total FDI inflows.
• In 2021-22, the bilateral trade between India and Singapore stood at USD 30.11 billion which was only USD 6.7 billion in 2004-05. The balance of bilateral trade is in favour of Singapore.
• Due to the strong air connectivity and the presence of a large Indian community, Singapore is emerging as a key offshore hub for Indian corporate.
• In 2015, during PM Modi's visit to Singapore, the bilateral relationship was elevated to a Strategic Partnership.
• Singapore has become a preferred centre of operations for Indian companies active in the Asia Pacific region. Combined with a good enabling environment, strong air connectivity, and the presence of a large Indian community, Singapore has emerged as a key offshore logistics and financial hub for many Indian corporate houses. About 6,000 registered ‘Indian’ companies are estimated to be present in Singapore. Nine Indian banks operate in the country.