NEW DELHI – Singapore intends to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as part of climate action, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said on Friday.
He announced this in a meeting with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar in New Delhi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said.
He was on a three-day visit from Wednesday to New Delhi to attend Thursday’s Group of 20 (G-20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
The ISA, an international organisation set up in 2015 and co-led by India and France, works with governments to bring clean and affordable energy to developing nations. It has 114 members.
At the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference in 2022, the ISA released a roadmap to mobilise US$1 trillion (S$1.35 trillion) of funding for solar power projects by 2030.
Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Jaishankar also welcomed the recently launched cross-border payment systems link between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface, MFA said.
The real-time fund transfer service, which allows customers of some financial institutions to send money to India instantly, was launched on Feb 21.
The two ministers also “reaffirmed the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable as a good platform for Singapore and India to collaborate in emerging areas including digitalisation, sustainability, healthcare and skills development”.
Singapore was invited to the G-20 summit as Convenor of the Global Governance Group, which comprises 30 small and medium-sized members of the United Nations.
During his trip, Dr Balakrishanan also met Minister of Education and Minister of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Friday.
The ministers discussed regional and global developments, as well as areas to enhance bilateral cooperation, including in capacity building and skills development, MFA said.
Both sides also reaffirmed the longstanding and close ties between Singapore and India.
