Singapore, India to deepen cooperation in telecommunications, food safety

To support the sector’s growth, Singapore is hoping to establish training centres in India, particularly where semiconductor companies are investing in, he added.

The two sides also noted the good progress made by ITE Education Services (ITEES), which is setting up a center of excellence for advanced manufacturing in Chennai.

Gan said the intention is for this project to be a pathfinder and a “strong structure and framework for skills training and upgrading, which is very important for the industrialisation of India”.

Another area of discussion was on how to smoothen Singapore firms’ entry into India, so as to create an ecosystem there for semiconductor manufacturing. There is also potential for further investment in India’s food processing sector, Gan added.

The agreements that were exchanged on Aug 20 will see Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India deepen their cooperation in areas such as spectrum management.

Radio frequency bands, or spectrum, are invisible airwaves that carry wireless signals. They make everyday communications possible, including radio and TV broadcasts, aviation and maritime satellite communications and mobile cellular transmission.

The two national agencies also agreed to exchange perspectives and best practices on safeguarding the interests of consumers in relation to telecommunications services and broadcasting regulation, and to coordinate their engagement at international regulatory bodies.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways will aim to facilitate information and training exchanges between each country’s heritage institutions, and encourage their participation in international engagements.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India separately agreed to strengthen bilateral technical cooperation in food safety, such as through exchanges on labelling, product recalls, emergency notifications, and import procedures.

SFA and its Indian counterpart also agreed to support safe and resilient agri-food trade between the two countries.

Gan noted that the Republic had worked with India during crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure that food supplies, such as rice, were not disrupted.

The two sides have been discussing a supply chain resilience arrangement for food, similar to the ones Singapore has with countries like Australia and New Zealand, he noted. Other areas of potential collaboration in food supplies include research and development to strengthen the technology for crop yields and quality.

Gan said the most important value of the ISMR is that it has become very easy for minister from both sides to call their counterparts, so as to iron out any issues in the way of deeper cooperation.

“We develop trust and relationship with one another (and) that will help to strengthen bilateral collaboration between the two countries,” he said.

The Indian ministers were hosted to lunch by Gan, and called on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

In a Facebook post, PM Wong said the leaders discussed ways to build on the good progress made through the ISMR and to take the two countries’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) further.

Singapore and India elevated bilateral ties to a CSP in September 2024, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official two-day visit to the city-state then.