New Delhi, Mar 16:
External affairs minister S Jaishankar will travel to Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia this month to drive bilateral relations and discuss regional issues.
Jaishankar will begin the five-day official visit on March 23, the external affairs ministry said on Saturday.
“The visit will focus on enhancing bilateral relations with the three countries, and would provide an opportunity for engagement on regional issues of mutual concern,” the ministry said.
Singapore is one of India’s closest partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the two sides have close ties in areas ranging from trade to defence and security. India and Singapore established a real-time link between their digital payment systems last year to facilitate instant and cost effective fund transfers.
India has intensified relations with the Philippines, especially in defence, in the last few years. The Philippines became the first overseas customer for the BrahMos cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia and New Delhi has expressed support for Manila’s position on territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Ties between India and Malaysia had cooled in recent years because of several irritants though both sides have attempted to restore relations to an even keel, especially after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim assumed office in 2022.
