Guwahati: Singapore, the country’s largest trading partner among ASEAN nations, on Wednesday said it will review its comprehensive free trade agreement with India to promote further trade and investments. “We are now in discussion to renew or rather have a review of that agreement (CECA) to strengthen it and make it work even better,” Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Kasivishwanathan Shanmugam told reporters here. Shanmugam is on an four-day official visit to India.
He is here to assess the business opportunities in the North Eastern states.
In 2005, India and Singapore signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to enhance trade in goods, services and investments.
The bilateral trade has been growing in double digits since FTA came into effect, he said, adding there is room for further advancement.
“The bilateral trade during last year was 35 billion Singapore dollars. From our perspective that is substantive. Given the nature of our economies and growth in Indian economy, there is room for more growth,” the foreign minister said. The Singapore minister, who paid a visit to the Kamakhya Temple on Wednesday morning, later had a meeting with business leaders. He he also met Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. He will visit Ahmedabad tomorrow to meet Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The Minister lauded India for being an investor-friendly destination and maintaining its growth rate despite global economic slowdown. Singapore is the second-largest investor in India. Asked about the impact of the retrospective amendment provision in the Finance Bill, he said: “India is an attractive destination. It is a very large economy that is growing strongly and investors will look at it and will see opportunities.
Obviously, transparency and certainty in laws are one of the things many investors would look for and where they don’t feel comfortable or confident, then that simply goes into their assessment of risks,” the Minister said.
Shanmugam said that Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was scheduled to visit India in July. During his visit, the two sides are expected to sign MOUs in various fields including education.
The Singapore Minister was in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss ways to enhance bilateral ties, particularly in trade and defence, with his Indian counterpart S M Krishna. (PTI)