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The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised a talk by High Commissioner of Singapore to India H.E. Simon Wong Wie Kuen on “Singapore’s Approach to the Indo-Pacific” on January 16, 2023. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF, chaired the session and made welcome remarks.

Singapore has been a balancer in the Indo-Pacific region and has been successful in managing the rivalries between the major powers. The city-state is a model of economic growth in the region. The talk focussed on Singapore’s perspective on the ongoing geopolitical developments in the region and the globe including US-China relations and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The discussion emphasised the importance of ASEAN centrality in the region. The growing consensus around the globe about India as one of the bright spots and a potential engine of growth in the near future was a part of the interaction. The talk also highlighted some of the emerging areas including green energy connectivity and technologies in fintech such as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of cooperation where India can be an exporter to Singapore and other ASEAN countries.