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India-Singapore free trade agreement on the cards

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB.18. India and Singapore may seal a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the middle of this year. This was disclosed here today by the Singapore Trade and Industry Minister, George Yeo, who said that the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA) may not be signed by April as scheduled owing to the elections but was likely to be completed by the middle of the year.

Speaking at meetings organised by the FICCI and the CII, he said the agreement will benefit both trading partners especially in the area of services, where India has aggressive interests. He said that Singapore could become the main trading hub for this country for its trade with Southeast Asia just as Hong Kong is to China. He felt the analogy was relevant and this approach was being worked out in the proposed CEPA.

The sensitive issue of Rules of Origin would soon be resolved and the talks for the FTA were in the final stages. Both sides could explore the possibilities for cooperation in tourism, infrastructure and healthcare. Seeking to allay fears of the Indian industry regarding diversion of trade, he said both sides could work on it.

On multilateral issues, he was not optimistic about trade talks concluding this year despite efforts by the European Union and the U.S. to break the logjam. He stressed the need for trade talks that broke down in Cancun to get back on track to carry forward what had been achieved ahead of the WTO Ministerial.

Mr. Yeo stressed the need for India to improve flight connectivity and infrastructure. As many as 150 flights were operating between the two countries. Flight connectivity also needed to be strengthened to give a fillip to tourism, especially in the Buddhist circuit. He urged the Indian Government to tap the potential of religious tourism.

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