AP-Singapore seal a deal on urban, digital governance

Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said the state is keen to collaborate with Singapore companies known for their innovative industrial ideas, adding that such partnerships would help accelerate the state’s transition into a knowledge-driven economy.

The Chief Minister made these remarks during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the Government of Singapore in the presence of Singapore’s minister for home affairs K Shanmugam. As part of the agreement, minister for IT Nara Lokesh and minister of state for foreign affairs and trade and industry Gan Siow Huang exchanged documents.

The MoU covers cooperation in urban governance, real-time and digital governance transformation, and sustainable development.

Speaking at the event, Naidu said he had great admiration for Singapore, which had emerged as a global model for development through strong public policies and visionary leadership. He recalled Singapore’s contribution in preparing the masterplan for Amaravati, expressing gratitude for its continued support.

Naidu said Andhra Pradesh was rebuilding its capital and moving decisively towards becoming a knowledge economy. He added that India too was moving towards political stability similar to Singapore, citing the NDA’s strong mandate and the coalition’s recent electoral success in Bihar.

Minister Lokesh described the MoU as the beginning of “an extraordinary journey” for Andhra Pradesh and thanked the Singapore government for offering a second opportunity for collaboration. He said the state, under Naidu’s leadership, would work to match Singapore’s pace of development.

Singapore minister Gan Siow Huang said the partnership between AP and Singapore would continue to strengthen and expressed hopes that the state would evolve into a healthy, wealthy, and happy society. She said the new agreements covered sustainable development, digital transformation and urban governance.

Civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu announced that flight services between Vijayawada and Singapore would operate three days a week, in addition to the existing Visakhapatnam–Singapore services. He said Singapore trusted Chief Minister Naidu’s development vision, just as Naidu trusted Singapore’s model.