This article sets out the diplomatic relationship between India and Singapore: the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, visits by heads of state and government, the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, parliamentary, ministerial and official exchanges, and cooperation in multilateral forums. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of July 2026.

Overview

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, India-Singapore relations were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Singapore in September 2024. The brief refers to a shared history, a long tradition of friendship based on trust and mutual respect, and extensive cooperation across a wide range of areas, and states that India-Singapore cooperation has deepened and diversified over the years.

India was one of the first countries to recognise Singapore, in 1965.

Visits by Prime Minister Modi

As of July 2026, Prime Minister Modi has visited Singapore 5 times since he assumed office in 2014:

  • March 2015, for the funeral of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Prime Minister of Singapore
  • November 2015, a bilateral visit
  • May-June 2018, a bilateral visit
  • November 2018, for the ASEAN-India Summit, East Asia Summit and RCEP Leaders' Meeting
  • 04-05 September 2024

In June 2018, Prime Minister Modi became the 1st Indian Prime Minister to deliver the keynote address at the Shangri La Dialogue. In November 2018, he became the first Head of Government to deliver the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival.

During the September 2024 visit, Prime Minister Modi held meetings with Prime Minister Wong, Senior Minister (and former Prime Minister) Lee and Emeritus Senior Minister (and former Prime Minister) Goh, and called on President Tharman. Relations were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, MoUs on cooperation in the areas of Semiconductor Ecosystem, Digital Technologies, Healthcare and Skill Development were exchanged, and a Joint Statement was issued.

Visits from Singapore

The then Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, paid a bilateral visit to India on 03-07 October 2016. He visited India again on 25-26 January 2018 for the Republic Day Celebrations and the 2018 ASEAN India Commemorative Summit, and came to New Delhi on 8-10 September 2023 for the G20 Leaders' Summit. On 22 November 2023, he took part in the virtual G20 Leaders' Summit hosted by Prime Minister Modi.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam paid a State Visit to India from 14-18 January 2025, accompanied by Minister for Transport Mr Chee Hong Tat and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ms Sim Ann. He met President Murmu and Prime Minister Modi, and several cabinet ministers called on him. After Delhi he visited Odisha.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong visited India from 02-04 September 2025. He called on President Murmu and held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi, and several cabinet ministers called on him. A Roadmap for India-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP Roadmap) was adopted, and MoUs were exchanged in the areas of Green & Digital Shipping Corridor, Space, Civil Aviation, Digital Asset Innovation and the establishment of a National CoE for skilling in advanced manufacturing in Chennai.

The brief states that the CSP Roadmap will facilitate bilateral engagement across eight priority areas, including economic cooperation, skills development, digitalization, sustainability, connectivity, healthcare and medicine, defence and security cooperation, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Lee also met on the sidelines of the G20 Summits in Rome (30 October 2021) and Bali (16 November 2022).

Foreign Ministers

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Singapore in November 2021, October 2023, March 2024, November 2024 and July 2025, meeting Singaporean dignitaries and business people. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visited India in June 2022, for the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and in March 2023, for the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The two Foreign Ministers have also met on the sidelines of multilateral events, most recently on 04 February 2026 in Washington DC.

India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable

The India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) brings together senior ministers from both governments:

  • The inaugural ISMR was held in New Delhi on 17 September 2022. Four Senior Singaporean Ministers attended: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Transport and Trade Relations Minister S. Iswaran and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong. The Indian side included EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Discussion focused on digital connectivity, Fintech, green economy, green hydrogen, skill development and food productivity.
  • The 2nd ISMR was held in Singapore on 26 August 2024. The Ministers reviewed progress under the pillars of Digitalization, Skills Development, Sustainability, and Healthcare & Medicine identified at the 1st meeting, and decided to add two new pillars, Advanced Manufacturing and Connectivity.
  • The 3rd ISMR was held in New Delhi on 13 August 2025. The Ministers reviewed initiatives under the six pillars of ISMR and identified a number of specific initiatives to pursue.
  • The 4th ISMR was held in Singapore on 20 August 2026. Two MoUs and one Letter of Intent were exchanged, on food safety, maritime heritage and telecom regulation.

At the 2nd and 3rd rounds, the Indian delegation comprised Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Dr. S. Jaishankar, Shri Piyush Goyal and Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology. Singapore was represented at both by Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, together with Ministers including Mr. K Shanmugam, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Mrs Josephine Teo and Dr. Tan See Leng.

Parliamentary exchanges

  • 24-26 April 2022: a 12 member Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by Speaker (Lok Sabha) Om Birla visited Singapore and met the Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore, Tan Chuan-Jin, and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
  • October 2023: Singapore Parliament Speaker Seah Kian Peng visited India for the P20 meeting.
  • November 2024: a delegation of PAP MPs led by Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary visited India.
  • 27-28 May 2025: an All-Party Parliamentary Delegation led by Sh Sanjay Kumar Jha visited Singapore and met Mr Edwin Tong, Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary and Members of Parliament Mr Vikram Nair and Mr Saktiandi Supat, as well as think-tank scholars and media.
  • January 2026: Singapore's Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Xie Yao Quan, attended the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) in New Delhi.

Ministerial, state and official visits

Singapore was invited as a Guest Country under India's Presidency of G20 in 2023, and 17 Singaporean Ministers took part in G20 meetings during the Indian Presidency. Other recent visits recorded in the brief include:

  • from India to Singapore: NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery (January 2024, under the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Distinguished Visitors Program), the Minister of State for Electronics & IT (October 2024, Singapore International Cyber Week), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal (October 2025) and Sh Ashwini Vaishnaw (November 2025)
  • from Singapore to India: Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information (February 2026, India AI Impact Summit)
  • Chief Ministers who visited Singapore: Gujarat, Sh Bhupendra Patel (November-December 2023); Odisha, Sh Mohan Charan Majhi (November 2024); Telangana, Sh A Revanth Reddy (January 2025); Assam, Sh Himanta Biswa Sarma (February 2025); Andhra Pradesh, Sh N. Chandrababu Naidu (July 2025 and June 2026); and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (February 2026)

At official level, Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar and Permanent Secretary (Development) of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luke Goh, co-chaired the 18th Foreign Office Consultations in Singapore on 07 March 2025. The 19th round was held in New Delhi on 06 August 2026, led by Secretary (East) Rudrendra Tandon and Luke Goh, Permanent Secretary (Policy). Luke Goh had visited India in August 2024, as Second Permanent Secretary, to prepare for the ISMR and the Prime Minister's visit, and he met Secretary (East) P Kumaran in India on 02 July 2025.

Multilateral cooperation

Singapore joined the International Solar Alliance in June 2023 and the Global Bio-fuel Alliance in September 2023. According to the brief, Singapore supports India as a permanent member in a reformed United Nations Security Council and has been supportive of India's engagements with ASEAN. Singapore was ASEAN Country Coordinator for India for 2021-24, the period in which India-ASEAN relations were upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Prime Minister Wong joined Prime Minister Modi for the launch of the Declaration on Digital Public Infrastructure, AI and Data for Governance, an Indian initiative, at the G20 Summit in Brazil in November 2024. India and Singapore are both part of IORA, NAM and the Commonwealth.