Singapore, May 31 (IANS): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that ties between India and Singapore are among the warmest and closest without any contests or claims.

"When India opened up to the world and turned to the east, Singapore became a partner and a bridge between India and Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)," Modi said while addressing a business and community event here.

"Political relations between India and Singapore are among the warmest and closest," he said.

"There are no contests or claims, no irritants or doubts."

Stating that it is a natural partnership from a shared vision, he said defence relations between India and Singapore are also among the strongest.

Modi arrived here earlier in the day on the third and final leg of his five-day tour of southeast Asia after making a brief stopover in Malaysia on his way from Indonesia.

Prior to attending the business and community event, he, accompanied by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, took a tour of the India-Singapore Enterprise and Innovation Exhibition at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre here.

The exhibition was organised by the Indian High Commission in Singapore in partnership with Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation.

On Friday, Modi will hold a summit with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and deliver the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to do so in the Track I annual inter-governmental security forum.