Sushma Swaraj to visit Singapore; KCR, Chandrababu Naidu to visit later this month

New Delhi: A series of high-profile visitors from India will be visiting Singapore this month starting from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who leaves on Friday for a two-day visit to one of the key trading partners of India.

Swaraj's visit will be followed by that of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Telengana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu later this month.

Swaraj, during her three-day trip, will hold meetings with top leaders of Singapore including Prime Minister Lee Hsien and her counterpart K Shanmugam.

Her engagements in that country include flagging off year-long celebration to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations and meetings with think-tanks and vibrant Indian diaspora.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said the Minister will explore the possibility of Singapore's involvement in the Smart City project and whether it can participate in rejuvenation of other Indian cities.

Singapore is India's largest trading partner in ASEAN grouping. It is also the source of highest FDI to India which was USD 5.9 billion last year.

Singapore is also the destination of highest Indian investments abroad during the last decade. It houses 4,000-4,500 Indian companies who have offices there.

The Spokesperson said Swaraj will also try to obtain Singapore's cooperation in various other infrastructure projects.

He said Swaraj will also look for cooperation with Singapore in replicating its water conservation and recycling projects in some of the big cities in India.

Approximately, 30 per cent of Singapore's water supply comes from recycling of water and rain-water harvesting.