SINGAPORE and India will need to negotiate a second Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) as their economies integrate rapidly, Foreign Minister George Yeo said. He noted that Hong Kong and mainland China has a free trade agreement called the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa).
Signed in June 2003, Cepa is based on a building block aproach for liberalisation of trade and services. A Cepa Four is currently being negotiated. 'I believe that in a few years' time, we will begin negotiating Ceca Two with India,' he said. He was addressing a partnership summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on the theme India And Singapore - Roadmap To The Future.
Ceca, which came into force in August 2005, is a sweeping accord that covers trade, investment and services. Since its signing, bilateral trade has shot up, growing 40 per cent last year.
Singapore was the second-largest investor in India in the first seven months of last year, with total foreign direct investments of US$520 million (S$800 million). These numbers do not capture the full story because a lot of Singapore's investments in India are routed through Mauritius, said Mr M. Rajaram, vice-chairman of the Singapore Business Federation.
Singapore-India ties have been growing on several fronts. With 142 weekly flights between the two nations, India has become an important source of tourism for the island.
Political ties too have been growing apace. Earlier this month, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged his nation's debt to Singapore for helping it enter various regional organisations, including the East Asian Summit.
'Singapore is a special friend of India,' he said at an annual global Indian conference at which Singapore Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar was the chief guest.
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