India, Singapore agree to boost trade, sign 8 pacts

Singapore, June 1 : India and Singapore have agreed to upgrade their Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement soon to boost bilateral trade as the two sides on Friday signed eight agreements in the fields of the training of public service officials, cyber security, narcotics control and defence cooperation.
The two sides concluded the second review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.
The review includes expanded tariff concessions for an additional 30 products and improved rules to provide more flexibility for Singapore exports into India to qualify for preferential tariffs under the agreement, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said after the completion of review.
“I am especially happy about the completion of the second review of our Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. But both of us agree that second review is not our destination, it is just a halt. Our executives will soon start discussions to upgrade and improve this agreement,” Modi said after his talks with Lee.