The Hindu : Front Page : "Asia brimming with confidence"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 02, 2006

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"Asia brimming with confidence"

P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Asia "brims with confidence and dynamism," as it is "powered by the twin engines of China and India," according to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

In a New Year message, Mr. Lee said the overall economic environment in Asia stayed favourable in the year gone by. In this milieu, the City-State's external trade grew strongly by 14 per cent in 2005, "helped by our expanding network of free trade agreements," he said, citing in particular the

Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which Singapore signed with India last June.

While Singapore was moving forward by developing ties with new partners such as Russia and some West Asian countries, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was now "building up links with major economic partners like China, India, and Japan."

Emphasising that Singapore was being shaped into "a vibrant global city," Mr. Lee said "terrorism is one major threat" to the multi-racial City-State's security and stability, which were essential for economic growth and communal harmony.

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