4 min readFeb 24, 2026 08:46 AM IST
After day-long meetings with business leaders and signing of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with several Singapore-headquartered companies, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday met members of the Indian diaspora in the country and also attended cultural performances.
The CM, who met Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan discussing cooperation in investment, infrastructure development and other issues, was given a warm welcome by a section of the Indian diaspora during a programme.
Various performances were held for Adityanath’s two-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation. The interaction reflected the growing connection and cultural bond between the Indian diaspora and the Uttar Pradesh government, an official statement said. Also, students of Global Indian International School in Singapore performed a ‘Ganpati Vandana’ for Adityanath.
Addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora, Adityanath said, “While there was a rush to adopt western culture, the Indian community living thousands of kilometres away in Singapore continues to preserve and promote India’s spiritual and cultural values with great strength and devotion.”
The children beautifully presented India’s classical art form through Ganpati Vandana, he added.
During his address, “Yogi hai toh UP hai” rang throughout the venue. A young girl brought to the venue a sketch of the CM, who gave her an autograph and returned it. Another woman tied a ‘rakhi’ on his wrist.
UP law & order praised
Swati, an attendee, praised Uttar Pradesh for improved law and order, the press statement said. “When a saint enters politics, politics becomes an act of devotion… On behalf of the 11.5 crore women of Uttar Pradesh, I will call the chief minister my brother because women in UP have now received a sense of security. Today, women can go out without fear even at night. There is now a fear of the law among criminals,” she was quoted saying.
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Referring to upcoming infrastructure, the CM said the Jewar International Airport would open soon and expressed hope for a “direct Singapore-Uttar Pradesh flight in the future” and also urged the diaspora members to promote tourism and support the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative by taking at least five of their friends each to visit UP.
He spoke about India’s growing global stature and urged Indians overseas to remain connected to their roots while contributing to their host country.
He said India is moving rapidly towards becoming one of the world’s largest economies, and highlighted UP’s transformation over the past nine years into what he described as a blend of “heritage and development”.
The Chief Minister cited the development of Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor and the state’s expanding infrastructure and industrial base, claiming that UP received nearly 156 crore tourists last year.
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The Chief Minister was accompanied by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, Adviser to the Chief Minister, Awanish Awasthi, and Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Deepak Kumar.
India’s High Commissioner to Singapore Dr Shilpak Ambule said the Uttar Pradesh delegation led by the Chief Minister “landed early in the morning and held a series of back-to-back meetings”, including calls on Singapore’s top political leadership.
Describing the visit as important from both Uttar Pradesh’s and Singapore’s perspective, he said the high-level engagements reflected growing interest in the state.
“He (UP CM) called on the Prime Minister, he met Foreign Minister, we are meeting the Manpower Minister tomorrow. He will be calling on the President as well as Deputy Prime Minister and the Home Minister,” the High Commissioner said, adding, “It is a very important visit for both from Uttar Pradesh as well as from the Singapore point of view as is evident from the number of meetings that are happening at the political level.”
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Ambule noted that the mission had been witnessing “Uttar Pradesh fever” over the past two months, with Uttar Pradesh Diwas celebrated recently at the High Commission.
(With PTI inputs.)
