India and Singapore are working on establishing a green energy corridor and looking at boosting cooperation in areas like green hydrogen, green shipping, semiconductor and manufacturing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday, January 17.
The MEA said this while briefing the media on the ongoing visit of Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to India.
Shanmugaratnam held separate talks with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday with a broad focus on further expansion of the bilateral ties.
There is already work going on for setting up a green hydrogen corridor between the eastern part of India and Singapore, Secretary (East) in the MEA Jaideep Mazumdar said.
The green corridor includes a link from Tuticorin and another from Paradip in Odisha, Mazumdar said.
The two sides are also looking at setting up a data corridor between the GIFT City in Gujarat and Singapore.
The data corridor is an important venture between Gujarat’s GIFT City and Singapore that is being discussed, Mazumdar said.
#MEABriefing ||
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 17, 2025
The Ministry of External Affairs (@MEAIndia) Secretary [East] Jaideep Mazumdar on the state visit of the President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam (@Tharman_S) :
Work going on the green energy corridor between 🇮🇳 India & 🇸🇬 Singapore, one from Tuticorin and… pic.twitter.com/Xut4toj2zt
Shanmugaratnam said Thursday that the data corridor is being explored so that the financial institutions of the two sides can exchange data on a safe and trusted basis.
Mazumdur said the two sides are eyeing MoUs in areas such as green hydrogen, green shipping, an industrial park, petrochemical complexes, and skill development, especially for semiconductor manufacturing.
The MEA official also said that India is looking at cooperation with Singapore in the field of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) for aerospace.
The cooperation in the sector has gained importance, as Indian airlines now have 1,500 aircraft on order, he said.
This sector has significant potential for generating employment and creating value addition, thus making India an MRO hub for others, he said.
Mazumdar said the situation in Myanmar also figured in talks between the two sides.
India works very closely with the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, he said.
Since Myanmar is both a neighbour of India and ASEAN, there was a discussion on the current situation in that country.
Myanmar has been witnessing wide-spread violent protests demanding restoration of democracy since the military seized power in the coup on February 1, 2021.
The resistance forces have already captured many key trading points along the borders with India, China and Bangladesh.
Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and it shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.
In view of the violence and instability in border areas of Myanmar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in January last year announced a plan to fence the border.
