Sitharaman, Jaishankar and Goyal to Lead India’s Push for Deeper Singapore Economic Ties

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has left for Singapore to participate in the fourth India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) which is scheduled to be held on August 19-20, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

Taking to the social media platform X, the ministry stated that FM Sitharaman is leading a ministerial delegation comprising External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Electronics and IT and Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada.

Established in 2022, the ISMR is a high-level economic mechanism between India and Singapore aimed at reviewing bilateral economic cooperation and identifying new areas of collaboration.

The fourth roundtable will build on progress made under six key pillars of cooperation -- advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalisation, healthcare and medicine, skills development, and sustainability, according to the ministry.

Moreover, the meeting will also explore new opportunities to further strengthen the economic partnership between the two countries.

The ministerial roundtable provides a platform for the two sides to assess developments across the identified areas and discuss ways to deepen economic engagement.

Additionally, EAM Jaishankar arrived in Singapore on Tuesday ahead of the ISMR.

“Great to welcome Hon'ble EAM S Jaishankar to Singapore for the 4th India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable ISMR! - HC Wong,” Singapore’s High Commissioner to India, Simon Wong, stated on X.

It noted that, along with EAM Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Jitin Prasada, Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, are going to participate in the roundtable from the Indian side.

According to the MEA, the mechanism of ISMR is an important platform to drive cooperation, including in new and emerging areas. Its inaugural meeting was held in 2022, followed by the second meeting in Singapore (August 2024) and the third in New Delhi in August 2025.