The visit to the two ASEAN-member countries is a contrast in many ways, although India has had historically close ties with both countries that were once under British occupation. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Building trade and technological ties will be at the top of the agenda as Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei on Tuesday (September 3, 2024), as part of a two-nation tour this week, which will also take him to Singapore on Wednesday (September 4, 2024).
In Brunei, he is expected to meet with the Sultan, Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, the world’s longest reigning monarch, who has ruled the country since 1967, and India and Brunei will sign an MoU on space cooperation to take further their earlier 2018 cooperation agreement on satellite tracking.
In Singapore, Mr. Modi will meet with new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who was sworn in in May this year, and the two leaders will witness the signing of four agreements on semiconductors, digital cooperation, healthcare and skilling.
The visit to the two ASEAN-member countries is a contrast in many ways, although India has had historically close ties with both countries that were once under British occupation.
Singapore is India’s sixth-largest trading partner and its largest in the ASEAN region, whereas Brunei has the lowest trading figures with India. Singapore is also the single largest source of Foreign Direct Investment in India (cumulatively US $ 160 billion since 2000, $11.77 billion in 2023). Officials have been trying to improve trading figures with both countries, by reviewing the 2009 ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) for several years, especially in terms of reducing tariffs.
“During the visit to Singapore, and also in Brunei we will be impressing upon [our counterparts] on the need to move quickly on the review of the AITIGA”, said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar, at a special briefing ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit.
Officials pointed out that the visit to Brunei, which is positioned strategically in the centre of the Indo-Pacific circle, surrounded by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam, was important for a number of reasons, in the light of India’s Act East Policy, and outreach to maritime neighbours in the region, as well as a country culturally linked to India with a “moderate religious philosophy”.
Increasing LNG intake
Brunei-India bilateral trade has hovered around the U.S. $500 million mark for the past decade, although it has declined in recent years, as India began to source more Russian oil and gave up oil imports from Brunei and officials said they would discuss increasing India’s LNG intake from Brunei.
India and Brunei are also discussing initial moves on defence cooperation, beginning with the setting up of a joint working group, the MEA said. Mr. Mazumdar said Brunei had given “valuable support” to India on space cooperation, referring to an earlier agreement that allows India to operate a ground station to help its space launches and satellite operations and in return India assists Brunei in its space research and training of scientists.
In Bandar Seri, Mr. Modi is expected to meet with Sultan Bolkiah in a one-to one meeting followed by delegation-level talks. He will also inaugurate the new Indian chancery building that has been recently completed, and will visit the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, built by and named after the present Sultan’s father, who had said he was influenced by India’s Mughal architecture, particularly the Taj Mahal.
Sultan Bolkiah has visited India on a number of occasions, including during two State Visits in 1992 and 2008, and then for ASEAN-India summits in 2012 and 2018. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Brunei in 2013 to attend the ASEAN-India Summit and East Asia Summit, and Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s visit in 2016 saw many MoUs signed. However, Mr. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to make a bilateral visit there.
During his visit to Singapore, Mr. Modi will address CEOs of many companies who will hear “India’s growth story firsthand,” Mr. Mazumdar said, adding that this is “an opportune time to set the stage for India-Singapore’s vibrant bilateral relations for the next decade”. Mr. Modi’s last visit to Singapore was in 2018.
Preparations for the Prime Minister’s Singapore visit were completed last week, as four Indian Ministers including Mr. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw met their counterparts in Singapore for the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR). However, the visit to Brunei was more quickly planned, after the Prime Minister’s plans to visit Thailand for the BIMSTEC Summit fell through after the government there was sacked by the courts and the new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she was unable to form her new cabinet in time for the summit.
When asked whether the BIMSTEC regional summit would be rescheduled within this calendar year now, MEA officials said they hoped to attend the summit “as soon as it was convenient” for Thailand to host it.
