Singapore is currently the coordinator for ASEAN-India relations

Praising India for its digital identity and payment systems, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said that it is a "clear opportunity" for the country.

Interacting with the media on Saturday after the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Balakrishnan said, "India has certain strengths - FinTech, digital finance, digital inclusion, and what they have done with digital identity and payment systems, is a clear opportunity for us".

"In Singapore, of course, we have all those systems as well, but for the rest of Southeast Asia, to explore how we can interconnect our payment systems, our financial systems, in order to facilitate payments and expand opportunities for small businesses across the subcontinent and across into Southeast Asia," he added.

Balakrishnan also referred to economic integration and stated, "We are reviewing the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement to facilitate trade to facilitate customs clearance and to reduce the friction for the movement of goods between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. We have got quite a lot of work there."

"I had the chance to meet (Indian External Affairs) Minister Jaishankar twice the last couple of months, and there will be more meetings," he added.

Singapore is currently the coordinator for ASEAN-India relations.

It is worth noting that Singapore is India's largest trade and investment partners in the ASEAN and the sixth largest in the world, overall. In 2020-21, bilateral trade stood at USD 21.98 billion. Singapore was the largest source of FDI in India in 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21.