More room for India, Singapore to deepen collaboration, says Deputy PM Yong

Mumbai, Aug 12 (PTI) The world is facing a fundamental existential challenge of climate change and collective effort from everyone is required to contribute towards a more sustainable future, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a session 'Leaders Dialogue on Green & Digital Maritime Corridors', hosted by Jawaharlal Nehru Port and industry body Assocham at the JNPA business facilitation Centre, he said that as Singapore and India celebrate their 60 years of bilateral relations, there is room for the two countries to do more in strengthening and deepening their collaboration, particularly in the maritime sector.

"As all of us know, we are facing a fundamental existential challenge of climate change. This climate change is a global challenge and requires collective effort from everyone to contribute towards a more sustainable future," Yong, who is also the trade minister of Singapore, said.

At the same time, he said, digitalisation is also another "mega trend" that is changing the world.

"In the advent of a digitalisation, and now with AI and even gen-AI, I think this will become a key tool to allow companies and enterprises to transform and transit towards a more sustainable future and also allow them to be more efficient, more productive, more competitive.".

"So I think green and digital maritime corridors are very important and all of us must do our part to transit towards a more sustainable future," he added.

Yong earlier visited Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal (BMCT) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port along Acting Minister for Transport Jeffery Siowwith Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and JNPA Chairman Unmesh Sharad Wagh.

Noting that Singapore and India are working on a memorandum of understanding on developing a green and digital shipping corridor, he said, "I think this is our contribution towards a more sustainable maritime sector." He said that PSA, which operates BMCT, is in a leadership position in charting a path forward for a more sustainable shipping business.

"This (BMCT) investment is a very significant investment but it is also a testament to the strong and enduring partnership between PSA Group and India and between India and Singapore. As you know, we are celebrating or marking our 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relationship between Singapore and India. This investment, as well as many other investments that we have made in India, reflects the strong ties between India and Singapore and we hope we will continue to grow this partnership," Wong added.

Phase 1 of the project is a good demonstration of how world-class port operations can benefit India by enhancing efficiency, reducing turnaround time and boosting competitiveness for India's exporters and importers, he said.

"Phase 2 builds on this success and doubles the capacity of the terminal from 2.4 million TEUs to 4.8 million TEUs. This will make BMCT the largest standalone container terminal in India. This terminal also represents a new milestone for PSA's journey in India. Over almost three decades, PSA has invested a total of USD 2.3 billion in India, of which more than half is in BMCT," the Singapore Deputy PM said.

"The success of BMCT demonstrates how Singapore companies can contribute to India's growth and development," he added.

"Especially at a time of significant volatility in the global trading environment, ports like BMCT play a critical role in keeping trade flowing and economies growing. This expansion will not only boost regional trade, but also create significant employment opportunities in the local population," he said. PTI IAS MR