The Hindu : India-Singapore agreement likely in April

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 08, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

India-Singapore agreement likely in April

CHENNAI JAN. 7. Liberalisation of health sector services will be an essential part of trade agreements between Singapore and India, the Singapore Minister for Health and Transport, Balaji Sadasivam, said here today.

An agreement, likely to be finalised in April, will open up the medical sector, facilitating greater interaction between Indian and Singaporean hospitals. ``We will try to make uniform the regulatory regime governing clinical trials, in order that cooperation between hospitals in the two nations would be possible. Clinical trials can be conducted in India and Singapore,'' said Mr. Sadasivam.

Singapore was also interested in `co-investment' opportunities with India and the Governments would try to make it easy for members of that industry to effect tie-ups, he said.

Though in terms of numbers, 95 per cent of Singaporeans used their country's health financing system and were unlikely to travel out of the country, there were a good number of persons among the top 10 per cent who travelled abroad, especially to India, for medicare.

Taking questions from mediapersons on the recent cases of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Mr. Sadasivam said there was an outbreak this time was unlikely. ``A great deal of attention is being paid to patients who have SARS. Besides, unlike last year, we have knowledge about the disease and treatment methods. We are vigilant and therefore, it can be controlled now. This time SARS will affect neither travel nor trade.''

The Minister earlier inaugurated a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner in the Apollo Hospitals here. The instrument, which uses a non-invasive method of mapping the internal structures of the body using radio frequency signals, will offer advanced diagnostic techniques to supplement primary diagnosis, doctors said.

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