Singapore’s Lawrence Wong was sworn in on May 15 as its fourth Prime Minister. 

The 51-year-old economist-turned-politician succeeded Lee Hsien Loong, 72, who relinquished his position after two decades. 

They both belong to the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) that has been driving Singapore’s economic progress for more than five decades.

The fourth PM

• Lee Kuan Yew served as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is regarded as the founding father of the modern Singaporean state. Lee Kuan Yew co-founded the People’s Action Party (PAP), which has ruled the city since 1959 and led the newly born country when it was separated from Malaysia in 1965.

• Lee Kuan Yew handed power in 1990 to his deputy, former shipping executive Goh Chok Tong. Goh served as Singapore’s second Prime Minister for 14 years. 

• Lee Kuan Yew’s son Lee Hsien Loong took over as PM in 2004.

• Lawrence Wong, the fourth PM in Singapore’s history, must lead the PAP to the next general elections, which are not due until November 2025 but could be called as early as this year.

• He is the first Singaporean leader born after its independence in 1965.

• Wong will be leading the fourth generation PAP politicians’ government as the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.

• In April 2022, Wong was named as the leader of the PAP’s fourth-generation (4G) team, and in June of that year promoted as the deputy Prime Minister.

• Prior to entering politics, Wong was a civil servant for 14 years before joining the ministry of trade and industry in 1997.

• The US-educated economist is widely seen as a social media-savvy stalwart who effectively handled the COVID-19 crisis when he oversaw the government's pandemic taskforce.

• The Wong-led government is expected to continue pro-business policies, given Singapore’s status as an Asian financial hub generating investments for Asia, including India, and a trading centre with a global network.

India-Singapore Relations

• The close ties between India and Singapore have a history rooted in strong commercial, cultural and people-to-people links across a millennium. 

• The more modern relationship is attributed to Sir Stamford Raffles who, in 1819, established a trading station in Singapore on the route of the Straits of Malacca which later became a crown colony and governed from Kolkata till 1867.

• India was one of the first countries to recognise Singapore in 1965.

• India-Singapore relations are based on shared values and approaches, economic opportunities and convergence of interests on key issues. There are more than 20 regular bilateral mechanisms, dialogues and exercises.

• A new high level Ministerial mechanism called India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) has been established to chart a roadmap to take bilateral relations to a new level.

• Singapore is India’s largest trade partner in ASEAN. It is the leading source of FDI. FDI equity inflows in India from Singapore during 2021-22 stood at $15.87 billion.

• Bilateral trade expanded after the conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) from $6.7 billion in FY 2004-05 to $30.11 billion in 2021-22. 

• India was Singapore’s 12th largest trade partner, for the year 2021-22. 

• Singapore is India’s sixth largest trade partner.

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