India-Singapore economic ties: 4th joint working group meet reviews trade, explores new sectors; milestone year for partnership

India and Singapore held the fourth meeting of their Joint Working Group on Trade & Investment (JWGTI) at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday, focusing on ways to deepen economic cooperation and identify fresh areas of collaboration.

The meeting came a day after the third India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, marking a week of intensive bilateral engagement.Ministry of Commerce & Industry in a statement said the talks centred on expanding trade and investment links, aligning priority sectors, improving logistics and supply chain efficiency, simplifying regulations, and boosting cross-border trade facilitation. Progress in existing collaborations—such as work in the semiconductor sector and the digitalisation of trade processes—was reviewed, while new opportunities in skills development, capacity building, and emerging industries were explored, according to ANI.The discussions were co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, and Beh Swan Gin, Permanent Secretary at Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry. Agrawal noted that the partnership has moved beyond traditional trade frameworks, offering “ample opportunities” for future cooperation.This year marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 20th anniversary of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)—India’s first comprehensive trade pact with any nation and Singapore’s first such agreement with a South Asian country.

Singapore remains India’s largest trading partner within ASEAN, with bilateral trade touching $34.26 billion in 2024-25. It is also the second-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment into India, contributing $163.85 billion (about Rs 11,24,509.65 crore) in equity inflows between April 2000 and July 2024, accounting for roughly 24% of cumulative FDI inflows.