Singapore/New Delhi, Sept. 6:  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met with his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, in an official visit to the city-state, sealing a series of deals to strengthen collaboration in semiconductors and digital technologies with India's largest foreign investor.

In his remarks during his meeting with Wong, Modi said that Singapore is not just a partner but an inspiration for every developing nation. "We also want to create many Singapores in India, and I am happy that we are making efforts together in this direction," he said in Hindi.

The two countries signed four memorandums of understanding aimed at deepening cooperation in areas such as semiconductors, digital technology, skills development and healthcare, according to the Indian government.

On chip production, Singapore will support India's growing industry, while India will promote the entry of Singaporean companies and the development of supply chains in its huge market.

The Southeast Asian nation has decades of experience in the semiconductor industry. Despite its small land area and high operating costs, Singapore today accounts for 10% of global chipmaking output, and around 20% of semiconductor manufacturing equipment production.

Both Asian countries have emerged as major destinations for chip investment, as Western and Chinese companies seek to diversify their production in response to geopolitical tensions. India also aims to increase cooperation in the field with Malaysia, another key semiconductor hub.

Apple, for example, is among a number of electronics and chip companies that are expanding their presence in India to reduce their dependence on China. Nikkei Asia reported last week that the U.S. tech giant has started making new model iPhones, including the high-end Pro series, in India.

Modi landed in Singapore on Wednesday on the final leg of his two-nation tour, which earlier took him to Brunei. Ahead of their official meeting on Thursday, Singapore's Wong hosted a private dinner for Modi.

His visit comes less than two weeks after a ministerial roundtable meeting with Singapore in which new areas of cooperation were identified in digitization, sustainability, skills development, health, advanced manufacturing and connectivity.

While Asian economies like Taiwan and South Korea lead in high-end chip production, the city-state has an edge in so-called specialty chips that are vital to automobiles, smartphones and other products. Singapore also hosts the largest production hub outside the U.S. for some American companies, including Applied Materials and Micron Technology.

"Singapore is very well plugged into the global semiconductor ecosystem. ... This is an area where we are very keen to get into," Jaideep Mazumdar, secretary (east) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters ahead of Modi's visit.

Analysts say Modi's visit provides an opportunity for the two countries to cement ties as they celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations next year.

Raj Kumar Sharma, a senior research fellow at NatStrat, a New Delhi-based security and foreign policy think tank, noted that India's relationship with Singapore is "an important economic pillar, central to India's Act East Policy," referring to its effort to strengthen ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, with ASEAN as its core.

"Semiconductors, green hydrogen, advanced manufacturing, digital connectivity along with air and sea connectivity, are emerging as new areas of cooperation between the two sides," Sharma told Nikkei Asia.

Singapore is India's sixth-biggest trade partner and its largest in the ASEAN region. In the financial year that ended in March, bilateral trade stood at $35.6 billion, while Singapore was India's largest source of foreign direct investment, at $11.77 billion, or about 27% of the total.-Agencies