Modi to visit Brunei and Singapore

This will be the first bilateral visit of an Indian PM to Brunei even though former PM Manmohan Singh had travelled to Darussalam for the 11th ASEAN-India Summit and 8th EAS Summit in October 2013 where he held one on one talks with the Sultan of Brunei. However, this cannot be termed a `bilateral’ visit and is counted as part of `multilateral visit.’

This visit will also mark 40 years of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between India and Brunei.

The diplomatic relations between India and Brunei were established in May 1984 but India’s first mission was set up in the country in 1993. Before this, the Indian Mission in Kuala Lumpur was concurrently accredited to Brunei Darussalam. Brunei Darussalam’s resident High Commission was established in India in August 1992 soon after which its head of state, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah undertook his first state visit to India.

The MEA said Brunei is an important partner in India’s ‘Act East’ Policy and its vision of Indo-Pacific. “The visit will further strengthen our cooperation with Brunei in all existing sectors including defence cooperation, trade and investment, energy, space technology, health cooperation, capacity building, culture as well as people-to-people exchanges and explore avenues for cooperation in newer sectors,” MEA said.

In Singapore, Modi and PM Lawrence Wong will review the progress of India–Singapore Strategic Partnership and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. During the visit, the Prime Minister will call on the President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam and interact with Singaporean leadership. The Prime Minister will also meet with business leaders from Singapore.