PM Modi will visit two countries in the first week of next month. PM Modi will first visit Brunei in the first week of September. No Indian Prime Minister has visited Brunei so far. Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Brunei. PM Modi will also visit Singapore after this. Prime Minister Modi was earlier scheduled to attend the sixth summit of BIMSTEC for multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation. Which was to be held in Bangkok on 3-4 September. Which was postponed last week due to the formation of a new government in the country.

PM Modi's foreign visits

"Prime Minister Modi will visit Brunei on September 3-4 at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. This will be the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei. The visit marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Brunei. Prime Minister Modi will leave Brunei and visit Singapore on September 4 and 5 at the invitation of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing on Friday.

India-Brunei relations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Brunei Sultan first met during the 25th ASEAN Summit in Nay Pyi Taw in November 2014. They met once again during the 2017 East Asia Summit held in Manila. In January 2018, the Brunei Sultan, accompanied by 10 ASEAN Heads of State and Government, visited India for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit. He was also the 'Chief Guest' at India's 69th Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2018. In 2013, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Brunei Darussalam to attend the 11th ASEAN-India Summit and the 8th EAS Summit. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, crowned as the 29th Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in August 1968, made his first State visit to India in September 1992. His second state visit was in May 2008. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Brunei Darussalam government has been supporting India's 'Look East' and 'Act East' policies to expand and deepen cooperation with ASEAN. Indian naval and coast guard ships have regularly visited Brunei and two Indian defense companies - Bharat Electronics Limited and MKU Limited - participated for the first time in the Defence Industry Exhibition organized by the Brunei Armed Forces in June 2024. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah visited the Indian stall during the expo and appreciated the participation of Indian companies.

PM Modi's visit to Singapore

After Brunei, PM Modi will travel to Singapore - a country with which India is exploring the possibility of enhancing cooperation in digital, skill development, healthcare, connectivity, and advanced manufacturing sectors. Earlier this week, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw led the Indian delegation at the second India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) held in Singapore.