PM Narendra Modi meets Brunei Sultan, Singapore PM

Nay Pyi Taw, Nov 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a string of meetings here with leaders of Southeast Asian neighbours, including Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Modi told the Brunei ruler that ties between India and Brunei are very close and that India is ready to cooperate further with the Southeast Asian nation.

The Brunei ruler said: "We welcome India's continued support. We welcome the Act East policy," according to tweets posted by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The Brunei Sultan invited Modi to visit his country.

"PM thanks Sultan of Brunei for the invite," the tweet said.

Modi and Prime Minister Lee of Singapore exchanged "exciting ideas relating to urban development".

Modi said: "In India when we talk about urban development, Singapore is always at the forefront of the discussions."

He said that India and Singapore are celebrating the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations.

"At the core of golden jubilee celebrations of India-Singapore relations should be the youth, knowledge and innovation," he said.

Modi also referred to his Make in India campaign and said that it offers several possibilities for economic cooperation in India.

"We want to give impetus to technology, manufacturing," he said.

Both leaders also discussed the potential of tourism and Modi spoke about the Buddhist circuit in India.

Lee told him that there is "lot of goodwill for India in the ASEAN", according to a tweet by the ministry of external affairs spokesperson.

Earlier in the morning, Modi met his Thai and Malaysian counterparts, Prayut Chan-o-cha and Najib Tun Razak, separately and also addressed the ASEAN-India summit.

IANS