Speaking at the India-Singapore Business Dialogue held at SMU, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr S. Iswaran said expectations are running high that the newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government will embark on positive policy changes and take India forward on a path of development and growth. Mr Iswaran noted the broad-based support for Modi's and BJP's vision and reform agenda, and extended his congratulations. He went on to highlight the strong bilateral ties between India and Singapore, saying that "our ties are strong and multi-faceted – between our governments, people and economies". He added that Singapore companies also have a certain familiarity with Indian market in several sectors due to business activities over the past few decades. These attributes have also been relevant when other countries have sought to partner Singapore companies with the expertise to meet the needs of the Indian market, he said.