New Delhi, May 11 (Inditop.com) India and Singapore are aiming to double their bilateral trade to $32 billion in the next five years, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said here Tuesday.
“We (India and Singapore) have agreed to work towards doubling bilateral trade from $16 billion to $32 billion by 2015,” Sharma said addressing a joint press conference here with his Singaporean counterpart Lim Hng Kiang.
The ministers launched the second review of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) signed in 2005 to facilitate trade and investment in goods and services.
Since 2005, the trade between India and Singapore has risen 20 percent annually.
The agreement has been reviewed once in 2007. “Now officials from both the sides will meet every quarter to complete the second review,” Sharma said.
“We want to take the CECA forward in the coming five years,” he said.
He said the two countries are looking to remove trade barriers, expand the product basket and encourage the flow of tourists, businessmen and professionals.
While the two sides agreed to establish an India-Singapore CEOs Forum, they signed a ‘Special Scheme for Registration of Generic Medicinal Products from India’ which seeks to fast-track the registration process for Indian generic medicines in Singapore.
The CECA review will look at exploring and developing cooperation in science and technology, intellectual property rights, and the media.
Besides, it will also look into expediting the conclusion of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for dental, medical, nursing, architecture, accountancy and company secretary professionals on priority.
The Indian minister also invited Singapore to invest in the $100 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.
India was Singapore’s 11th largest trading partner in 2009.
With $2.9 billion foreign direct investment (FDI), Singapore was at second place in terms of FDI inflows into India last year.
