By IANS,
New Delhi : Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Thursday met leading industrialists in Gurgaon and discussed investment and business tie-ups with them.
India’s ongoing urbanization process and infrastructure needs hold great opportunities for Singaporean firms.
According to Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, the three key areas of potential tie-ups are urban planning, logistics and consumer products used by the country’s growing middle class.
Lee and Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, discussed the possibility of Airtel tapping the experience of Singapore’s SingTel in rolling out 4G mobile network.
Lee also got a briefing on developments in Haryana and the industrial and financial centre of the state Gurgaon.
The Singapore companies which have invested in Haryana include Ascendas, APL Logistics and Frasers Hospitality.
Lee was in India to attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, which holds a special meaning for Singapore.
The city-state had lobbied its neighbours to engage India in the 1990s. As a result, ASEAN made the South Asian giant a sectoral dialogue partner in 1992, a full dialogue partner in 1995, and a member of the Asean Regional Forum in 1996.
Singapore’s support for warmer ties with India was based on its deep historical links to the region, its lack of territorial disputes with Asean members, and its possible role as a counterweight to China.
In 2005, India and Singapore had signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.
Singapore is now India’s eighth largest trading partner, while India is its 10th largest trading partner.