SPEECH BY MINISTER (T&I) AT THE “CELEBRATING INDIA IN SINGAPORE” INAUGURAL INDIA EVENING, SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, 11 APRIL 2006, 8.10 PM

Your Excellency Minister Kamal Nath

Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to be here tonight for the Inaugural India Evening of the “Celebrating India in Singapore” Week and to welcome Minister Nath back in Singapore again.Minister Nath’s two visits to Singapore in just two weeks reflect the closeness between our two countries.

“Celebrating India” is testament to the expanding Singapore-India relationship.The statistics reflect this strong expansion.On the economic front, trade between India and Singapore has doubled in just two years to S$16.6 billion in 2005.I am told that India’s exports to Singapore have not only more than doubled in the last two years but have also grown faster than to India’s other major trading partners.

More companies from India are setting up in Singapore and this is also true vice versa. Singapore companies like Gateway Distriparks and NOL are in the thick of the action in India’s freight rail services networks. This is just an example of the interest in India that has led to Singapore becoming the third largest investor in India in 2005, up from tenth the year before.

The interest goes beyond the business community.Young Singaporeans can look forward to a stint at the new National University of Singapore campus in India’s Silicon Valley or to the opportunities of receiving an IIM or IIT education right here in Singapore.

These developments provide glimpses of how the India-Singapore relationship is creating shared prosperity, on the back of widening interactions between our countries.Although we are now at a high point, I think that there remains great potential to be tapped.Both governments have been working together to provide the right conditions to grow this relationship. While a strong government-to-government engagement process is important, it is not sufficient.A robust relationship between countries is one that is built from a proliferation of relationships at all levels and involving the private, public, and people sectors. “Celebrating India” is an example of what can happen when all this comes together.

As we celebrate India in Singapore this week, let me share some thoughts on how to make the broader relationship a stronger one.

Establishing the Frameworks

Firstly, both governments have been working together to set up the right frameworks for both countries to interact and understand each other better.Singapore and India cooperate on many fronts.Good frameworks build on and expand existing links to sustain and enhance relationships.They provide fora for both sides to have a sustained dialogue and to engage each other on issues of interest.

As you know, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, or CECA, is one key framework for broad economic engagement between Singapore and India.Apart from its direct benefits for businesses, the CECA has been useful in creating more awareness about the potential of India.It has also helped to encourage the formation of links at all levels between the public and private sectors of our countries.

My meeting with Minister Nath in Singapore last week was to kick-start the CECA Review process.Singapore and Indian officials in various Ministries and government agencies will be working together to fine-tune and improve the Agreement in the months ahead.By the first anniversary of CECA in August this year, Minister Nath and I aim to present an improved CECA to better facilitate the business communities of both our countries.

Providing Access to Opportunities

Secondly, for greater India-Singapore economic engagement, there needs to be access to opportunities by both sides.One notes that India today represents abundant opportunities for businesses, much like how the roaring ninties were for investors in China. Although such abundance can seem to be daunting, it need not be so. Access to the right opportunities in India can come about by being plugged into the right networks.

Businesses here are fortunate to have many avenues to turn to. International Enterprise Singapore, and partner institutions like the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, facilitate opportunities for India-bound companies through business missions and workshops. For instance, IE Singapore’s India Executive Management Programme, which it co-organizes with the Tatas, helps to familiarize Singapore public servants and business professionals with the Indian business landscape.The Institute of South Asian Studies, or ISAS, is another good resource that has taken on the role of providing decision-makers in business and government with valuable insights on the South Asian region.

Companies can also tap on our friends from India.CII and the Indian High Commission are important partners that bring Singapore closer to India.Their doors are open.I would encourage you to engage them and get their views as you seek to understand the market better.They might be able to provide insights and connections that might be useful as you enter the India market.

Understanding India

Establishing frameworks and providing access to opportunities are only a means to an end.By bringing peoples and places together, they help enhance our understanding of each other and build mutual appreciation.Fundamentally, these are the key ingredients of any successful relationship.

Businesses need to understand what makes India tick in order to be successful.The Koreans have done it in the electronics and white goods sector, while Nokia and LG have managed to strike the right notes with their mobile phones. Going forward, the immense India market can help internationalizing Singapore companies grow into truly world-class companies.Singapore companies need to do their homework and put in some ingenuity by embedding their understanding of India into their product offerings.Osim, I hear, has been doing well in selling its high-end healthy lifestyle products to Indian consumers. I understand that they have an interesting product, which TIME Magazine awarded Invention of the Year, called the iSymphonic Chair.The iSymphonic gives a massage that can be synchronized with Bollywood music.I also understand that the Tung Lok Group of restaurants has just ventured into India.I am sure that their menus will get the right reviews if they can offer Far Eastern fare with a touch of India.

Conclusion

Events like the “Celebrating India” week are important because they help us understand and appreciate the many facets of India. By celebrating India, we not only celebrate a part of diverse past but also an important part of our common future. I would like to thank the Indian High Commission, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and their partners for this excellent effort.I wish the organizers of the Celebrating India week all success in the events for the week.

Thank you.