After 50 years of diplomatic ties, India and Singapore to be strategic partners

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After almost five decades of having diplomatic ties, India and Singapore will become strategic partners for the first time on Monday.

The partnership will encompass all aspects of bilateral ties from expansion of defence cooperation, enhancement of trade and investment and strengthening of regional relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The decision to sign the Strategic Partnership Agreement with Singapore was taken in August 2014 based on a ‘5S Plank’. Since then both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have been continuously discussing the contours of such a pact as they planned to take their relationship beyond just business and trade.

“It is crucial to have such a pact with Singapore considering its strategic location. Not only will it enhance India’s ‘Look East’ policy, but it will also give India a greater voice in the ASEAN region at large,” an official told BusinessLine.

This is also done keeping in mind the increasing presence of China in that region and the escalation of dispute in the South China Sea region, the official added.

As a result, Modi’s visit to Singapore assumes importance. The pact will be signed with both leaders having a summit-level dialogue where all issues are expected to be discussed, with a special focus on India’s overall strategy in the Indian Ocean region.

“Singapore is an integral part of our Look East Policy and it was announced from there by our former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Singapore remains one of our important defence exporters. Besides, they have been trying to act as a bridge between India and China and all these is linked to the entire Indian Ocean strategy that India is now working on,” highlighted Sanjaya Baru, Director for Geo-economics and Strategy, at the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).

Recently, at a meeting of the Fourth Joint Commission, which was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, issues such as maritime cooperation, trade ties and cyber security were discussed. While in Singapore, Modi is also expected to deliver the prestigious ‘Singapore Lecture’ at the Institute of South East Asian Studies.

Singapore has emerged as the second largest source of FDI amounting to $35.9 billion as of June 2015, which is 14 per cent of India’s total FDI inflow. India also has a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore with bilateral trade reaching $17.1 billion in 2014-15.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-news/after-50-years-of-diplomatic-ties-india-and-singapore-to-be-strategic-partners/article7906529.ece

Singapore to focus more on economic activities in India: Experts

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“The emphasis would be on working with India in the areas we are good at, including skill development and town planning,” he told PTI in comments on India-Singapore ties ahead of Modi’s visit from November 23.

Singapore will further strengthen its bilateral trade ties with India through the “strategic partnership” the two countries will establish during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit here next week, according to experts.

 

“The strategic partnership means bringing the relationship between the two countries to a higher level. This is likely to be focused on economic activities,” said Gopinath Pillai, Chairman of the Institute of South Asia Studies, a think-tank of the National University of Singapore.

 

“The emphasis would be on working with India in the areas we are good at, including skill development and town planning,” he told PTI in comments on India-Singapore ties ahead of Modi’s visit from November 23.

 

Singapore and India have enjoyed steadfast bilateral relations for the past five decades which were further enhanced under the 2005-Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), a free-trade pact promoting economic and trade activities.

 

Singapore is India’s second largest investor, especially in the power and port sectors.

 

CECA is further being reviewed and would encourage more international investments through Singapore into massive developments taking place in India.

The Indian government has this month further liberalised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in infrastructure, sending a clear signal of its economic reform programmes, Pillai added.

 

Depending on how the reviewed CECA is positioned, Singapore-based investors remain “gung-ho” on economic prospects in India and will use the treaty to venture into the Indian market, just as Indian companies and businesses are using Singapore as a springboard to spread across Asian markets, including China, he said.

 

The Indian leader’s visit to Singapore is also seen as timely and comes soon after one made by Chinese President Xi Jinping in early November.

 

Singapore, as a signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and as negotiator of the China-led pan-Asian Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, can help India expand into Asia, according to Girija Pande, Executive Chairman of Apex Avalon.

 

Pande also pointed out that, Singapore with its links to the Asian supply chain, can also play an important role in ‘Make in India’ initiative, calling on the Indian Prime Minister to push for more commercial engagement with Singapore and the wider ASEAN region.

 

Singapore and India have many collaborative programmes between schools and colleges.

 

“Students from Singapore often visit Indian schools to get better understanding of the Indian communities and study approaches and vice versa,” he said.

 

Source:  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49857019.cms

Want to partner India in smart cities: Huawei

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Chinese technology major Huawei wants to partner India in helping it build Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure for the development of smart cities, a senior company executive said at the Huawei Innovation Day Asia, co-hosted with National University of Singapore, here last week.

 

The Centre has already announced the list of 100 cities which it plans to make ‘smart’ by providing efficient physical, social, institutional and economic infrastructure. The government has defined a smart city in the Indian context as a city that provides a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment, and supports the application of smart solutions.

 

“We will be able to help India build ICT infrastructure including wireless systems and the computing platforms for the smart cities,” said Joe So, Huawei’s chief technology officer for Industry Solutions at the company’s Shenzhen head office.

 

“We can help build the inter-dependency of the Indian system,” So said, stressing on Huawei’s strength in building ICT infrastructure.

 

Noting the similarities between India and China, especially in view of the huge population in their major cities, So said India’s smart cities should also adopt ICT. So pointed out the use of ICT in Chinese cities has helped reduce crime rates significantly. The Indian smart cities could also use ICT for similar use, said So at the Huawei Innovation Day Asia.

Elaborating, So said India would not be able to have one plan for building 100 smart cities as the country’s major regions are different from one another. Each city must be planned based on its structure and people’s needs such as New Delhi being a government and agencies centre and Mumbai being a commercial hub.

Addressing the Innovation Day Asia, Singapore’s minister for trade and industry S Iswaran said, “The ICT innovation will have a profound impact on the nature of jobs, the viability of business models, and the structure of economies.” Citing the Asian Development Bank’s figures, Iswaran said the continent’s urban population grew by 44 million every year and the Asian nations had to concern themselves with their citizen’s growing expectations for more efficient government services, as well as ensure environmental sustainability.

So said he’ll be highlighting Huawei’s technologies for India, its second largest market outside China, at the Smart-Safe City conference in Bangalore on December 19.

The company also announced its vision for the next generation of the smartphone: The “superphone”, and said it will be developed by 2020.
Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49798484.cms

 

India, Japan sign action plan to double investments in 5-years

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The governments of India and Japan signed an agreement on Thursday for doubling of Japanese investment into Indian firms in the next five years, and  boosting two-way trade. The signatories were Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Japan’s minister for economy, trade and industry, Yoichi Miyazawa.

The plan was categorised into five broad areas: development of selected townships in India, promotion of investment and infrastructure development, further development and cooperation in information technology, enhancing cooperation in strategic sectors and Asia-Pacific economic integration.

Signing of the action plan is seen “as a step further in improving the trade relationship between India and Japan as a follow-up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan last year,” stated a release quoting Miyazawa.

According to Sitharaman, the agenda was in line with PM’s Make in India plan that will further investments from Japan into the country’s manufacturing sector.

Last year, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under the ministry of commerce and industry had set up a mechanism to fast-track Japanese investments named ‘Japan Plus.’

During Modi’s visit, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had set a target of 3.5 trillion yen ($33.5 billion) of public and private investment and financing from Japan including official development assistance to India to be made over five years. There are already 1,209 Japanese firms operating in India out of which 137 have started their operations after October 2013.

Japan is the fourth largest foreign direct investment (FDI) contributor to India, with major interests in pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and services sectors accounting for 7.46 per cent of total FDI equity inflows into India. During April 2000-November 2014, FDI from Japan into India stood at $17.55 billion.

Under the Tokyo Declaration for Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership, Modi and Abe have set a target of doubling Japanese FDI and the number of Japanese firms in India by 2019.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-japan-sign-action-plan-to-double-investments-in-5-years-115043000401_1.html

Strengthening Iran-India trade ties a great opportunity for both

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Iran’s Ambassador to India Gholamreza Ansari at the inaugural session of the United Economic Forum’s Trade Summit 2015 in Chennai on Saturday.

Iran’s Ambassador to India Gholamreza Ansari at the inaugural session of the United Economic Forum’s Trade Summit 2015 in Chennai on Saturday.

India is on top of Iran’s list of partners with which it plans to strengthen economic ties in the region, according to Ghulam Raza Ansari, Ambassador of Iran to India.

Ansari, who just returned from Iran after participating in a seminar on its economic direction post-sanctions, said that the countries in the region had been Iran’s biggest asset in tiding over a three-decade long sanction imposed by the West.

Iran had managed the sanctions and achieved its rights through diplomacy and cooperation. It will first focus on growing trade relations in the region and India is a top priority. There is a great opportunity for both countries to increase economic relations across a wide range of sectors such as oil and gas including transmission, metal, food and agriculture.

Tamil Nadu particularly was first destination of Iran’s investments when it invested in 1960s in petrochemicals and refinery, he said, addressing the inaugural function of a two-day trade summit organised by the United Economic Forum, a platform for the socio-economic development of muslims.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Chief Minister, Jammu and Kashmir, said education is the key to the development of the community.

The Sachar Committee, which had been appointed by the previous Central Government to go into socio economic status of Muslims and make recommendations for their development, had pointed out that educational backwardness was the reason for economic backwardness.

The Committee’s recommendations such as starting quality government schools in areas where there are Muslims, schools for girls and skill development facilities need to be implemented. Degrees awarded by traditional institutions such as the Madarasas must be recognised in mainstream education and competitive exams, he said.

Ahmed AR Buhari, President, UEF, said India is a bright spot in the globe in terms of economic development. The forum is actively participating in the ‘Make in India’ campaign launched by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

UEF has set a target of garnering ₹ 10,000 crore in investments during the two-day summit and has tied up investments of over ₹ 2,000 crore on the first day across a range of sectors including tourism, hospitality, real estate and logistics.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/strengthening-iranindia-trade-ties-a-great-opportunity-for-both/article7877117.ece

 

 

India, UK strike 3.2 bn pound deal on energy, climate change

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The package encompasses 3.2 billion pounds of commercial agreements and initiatives to share technical, scientific, and financial and policy expertise.

Ahead of the Paris climate summit, India and Britain have agreed on a comprehensive package of collaboration on energy and climate change which includes commercial deals worth 3.2 billion pounds.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing UK visit, the two countries reaffirmed the importance of addressing climate change and promoting secure, affordable and sustainable supplies of energy that will support economic growth, energy security and energy access.

“The UK and India’s partnership on energy is going from strength to strength. We share world-class expertise in research and innovation. The UK’s experience in green finance and technology in particular makes us well-placed to work together to promote secure, affordable and sustainable supplies of energy and address climate change,” said UK energy and climate change secretary Amber Rudd.

“The upcoming talks in Paris will be a crucial moment in the fight against climate change and I am pleased to be able to work closely with India to ensure that the deal we secure helps to keep the below 2 degree limit on global warming within reach,” she added.

The package encompasses 3.2 billion pounds of commercial agreements, joint research programmes and initiatives to share technical, scientific, and financial and policy expertise.

This is aimed at encouraging the research, development and eventual deployment of clean technology, renewables, gas and nuclear.

As part of the package, Britain also announced the UK Climate Investments joint venture with the Green Investment Bank. This will invest up to 200 million pounds in renewable energy and energy efficiency in India and Africa.

The two countries also agreed on the need for an ambitious and comprehensive global agreement to tackle climate change in Paris later this month and that the agreement should signal to investors and innovators the long term commitment of governments to clean and more sustainable economies.

Modi and his UK counterpart David Cameron also welcomed the completion of negotiations for a Nuclear Cooperation Agreement and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) related to closer civil nuclear collaboration between the UK and India.

 

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49768488.cms

 

RBI allows foreign currency-rupee swap transactions

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RBI said that such swap transactions could be undertaken by the MFI/IFI concerned on a back-to-back basis with an authorised dealers (AD) Category-I bank in India

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday allowed residents having a long-term foreign currency liability to enter into foreign currency-rupee swaps with multilateral or international financial institutions (MFI/IFI) in which the government of India is a shareholding member, subject to certain conditions.

RBI said that such swap transactions could be undertaken by the MFI/IFI concerned on a back-to-back basis with an authorised dealers (AD) Category-I bank in India. The tenure of such swaps should be at least three years, according to a notification issued by the central bank.

In the event of a default by the resident borrower on its swap obligations, the MFI/IFI concerned will have to bring in foreign currency funds to meet its corresponding liabilities to the counter-party AD Cat-I bank in India, the central bank said.

The AD Cat-I bank will have to report the FCY-INR swaps transactions entered into with the MFIs/IFIs on a back-to-back basis to CCIL reporting platform, including the details of the foreign currency borrower. Furthermore, the banks will have to bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned.