Positioned India as an attractive investment destination: Piyush Goyal in Singapore

New Delhi, Aug 25 Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said that he had “a very fruitful day” in Singapore where he interacted with leaders of major global investment firms having over $500 billion of assets under management (AUM).

Piyush Goyal reached Singapore to participate in the second ‘India Singapore Ministerial Roundtable’ (ISMR), to be held on Monday. The Union Minister discussed bilateral trade and investment issues with the global business leaders in Singapore like Temasek holdings, DBS bank, OMERS, Keppal infrastructure and TVS Motor Company, among others.

“Positioned India as an attractive investment destination and invited these multinationals to be a part of our development journey,” he posted on X. In the meetings, key discussions were held to explore and enhance investment opportunities between India and Singapore, focusing on mutual growth and collaboration across diverse sectors.

“The focus was on exploring investment opportunities in India, leveraging the country’s economic growth, and fostering collaboration across various sectors,” according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The discussions focused on scaling up investments, particularly in the SME sector, enhancing India’s investment climate, supporting sustainable development through decarbonisation, and identifying synergies for family-owned businesses in a changing global landscape, the ministry informed. Piyush Goyal also visited the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Headquarters and ITE College Central in Singapore to explore opportunities for collaboration between the two nations in developing cutting-edge learning environments.

He also toured the Aerospace and Smart Manufacturing Hubs and gained deeper insights into the philosophy of continuing education and skill development. Singapore has been a major source of FDI for India. In the year 2023-24, the country was the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) for India, with an estimated $11.77 billion in inflows. In bilateral trade, Singapore was the sixth largest global trade partner of India in 2023-24 with a total trade of $35.61 billion. Apart from Piyush Goyal, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will also participate in the ISMR. They will interact with their counterparts and will also call on Singaporean leadership.