Singapore and India should enhance economic ties, says Goh Chok Tong

Mumbai, Jan 14 (ANI): Singapore Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has said that India and Singapore should have greater economic ties and he is certain that the Indian economy would grow by seven to eight percent in the next ten to twenty years.

Talking to reporters here on Friday, Goh Chok Tong said Singapore needs to look beyond Delhi and it should forge greater economic partnership with major Indian states.

The Minister, who earlier visited Hyderabad said: "We want to extend our contacts beyond Delhi. So politically it is important for us to engage the major states in India. Of course economically all the states are well -------- for us. So in Hyderabad, I had a good discussion with the Chief Minister on the opportunities available in the state for business relations to be enhanced. Of course in Mumbai, I met the Chief Minister."

He further said that he was very keen to understand the financial situation of India and how the Eurozone crisis affected the Indian economy.

"I was very interested in getting a reading on the financial situation in India, how the Euro crisis has affected India. Of course it has, and how it is responding to it. So the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has responded by tightening the monetary policy and interest rates on fighting inflation for which they are confident of doing so by bringing the rate of inflation by seven percent or several percentages more by the end of the year.

We also had a good discussion to have the need to have a second review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between the two countries. So it was a general discussion on what we could do together," added Tong.

Tong said that India would grow at a steady pace of seven to eight percent in the next ten to twenty years and it has huge potential.(ANI)