New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Brunei and Singapore next week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday.
"PM Modi at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is scheduled to visit Brunei during September 3-4. This will be the first ever bilateral visit by an Indian PM to Brunei. The visit coincides with 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Brunei. From Brunei, the PM will thereafter visit Singapore on September 4 and September 5, 2024 at the invitation of the PM, his excellency Lawrence Wong," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at regular media briefing on Friday.
PM Modi was earlier scheduled to attend the sixth summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) - scheduled to take place in Bangkok on September 3-4 - which was postponed last week due to the formation of the new government in the country.
Last month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had met Erywan Pehin Yusof, Foreign Minister of Brunei on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Vientiane and jointly launched the logo celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Brunei Sultan met for the first time on the sidelines of 25th ASEAN Summit at Nay Pyi Taw in November 2014. They met once again during the 2017 East Asia Summit held in Manila.
In January 2018, the Brunei Sultan, along with the 10 ASEAN Heads of State and Government, visited India for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit. The leaders were also 'Guests of Honour' at India's 69th Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2018.
In 2013, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Brunei Darussalam to participate in the 11th ASEAN-India Summit and the 8th EAS Summit.
Crowned as the 29th Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in August 1968, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah undertook his first State Visit to India in September, 1992. His second State Visit to India came in May, 2008.
According to the MEA, Brunei Darussalam government has been supportive of India's 'Look East' and 'Act East' policies for expansion and deepening of cooperation with ASEAN.
Indian naval and coast guard ships have regularly visited Brunei and two Indian defence companies - Bharat Electronics Ltd and MKU Limited - participated in the Defence Industry Exposition organised by Brunei Armed Forces in June 2024 for the first time. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah visited the Indian stalls during the expo and appreciated the Indian companies' participation.
As per the MEA, there are currently around 14,500 Indians living in Brunei Darussalam out of the total population of about 450,500 with more than half of the Indian expatriates being semi and unskilled workers, who work in oil and gas industries construction, retail businesses, etc.
After Brunei, PM Modi will travel to Singapore - a country with which India is exploring enhanced cooperation in digital, skill development, sustainability, healthcare, connectivity and advanced manufacturing areas.
Earlier this week, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw led the Indian delegation at the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) held in Singapore on Monday.
During their visit, the Indian ministerial delegation also jointly called on Singapore Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong who had led the Singapore delegation for the first ISMR held in New Delhi in September 2022.
"Glad that progress has been made on several fronts since our last meeting. And new ideas for cooperation are being pursued, including in advanced manufacturing and connectivity. These initiatives will pave the way for closer strategic cooperation and partnership between India and Singapore," the Singapore PM said after his meeting with the visiting Indian ministers on Monday.