Minister of Railways; Commerce & Industry; Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today delivered the keynote address at India-Singapore CEO Forum. Inviting businesses from both sides to bring in sparkle into India and Singapore's partnership, he said that ours is a strong & productive partnership, which can be taken to higher levels. The minister said that it is a partnership that will help us become Aatmanirbhar& also give opportunities for us to expand our global footprint.

Shri Goyal urged businesses to look at ways how we can expand the engagement and encourage India's youth to use more innovative technologies. He said India & Singapore are working together in cyber security & disaster relief, and Education and skill development can be taken up as pillars where we can work together and learn from Singapore’s experience. E-Commerce, Fintech, smart manufacturing, healthcare are significant areas where India offers a large market. He said that our working together in these areas can truly transform India's own effort to give the best to our people.

Shri Goyal quoted Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi as saying that "Singapore is our spring board to the ASEAN region". Shri Goyal expressed the belief that the new regional order that will emerge, will rest on the strong shoulders of Singapore & India. He said that through budget 2021-22 and various other measures, Prime Minister has been trying to prepare the country to engage with the world from a position of strength, in the next decade. Similarly, the Singapore budget also this year has focused a lot on transformation and innovation. He expressed happiness that Singapore and the GIFT city which is our first operational smart city, have tied up with the Singapore exchange to boost international investment in India.

The minister said that he looks at expanding the Singapore-India ties resting on greater degree of people to people engagement and that can rest on three B's: - Buddhism, Bollywood and Business. He said Our women entrepreneurs have done us proud, and the huge potential in this area can be expanded to improve India & Singapore's relationship.

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YB/SS