By Channel NewsAsia's India correspondent
Damanjeet Kohli |
Posted: 12 May 2010 1821 hrs
 |
|||||||||||
 Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang (L) and Indian Minister for Trade and Commerce Anand Sharma. |
|||||||||||
|
NEW DELHI: Singapore has concluded a deal with Delhi to further
open its market to Indian generic drugs.
The deal was sealed by Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang while on a visit to New Delhi.
He is also there to review the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
India is the world's fourth largest maker of generic or off-patent drugs.
In the last two years, drug patents worth an estimated US$40 billion have expired, creating an opportunity for India to produce and sell these drugs at a lower cost.
But to sell to foreign markets, these drugs must be cleared by the importing country.
And Singapore has signed a pact with India, to simplify the process.
Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, said: "Basically, whenever Indian companies produce generics, you have to go through a regulatory process, of registering and getting regulatory clearance.
"What we have agreed is that you can do that in the normal way but if your generics have already cleared through one of the five countries - US, Canada, EU, UK or Australia - Singapore would take that as already cleared and we would import it without additional clearance from a generic company."
India has also invited Singapore to invest in its Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor project.
It involves building 24 industrial zones along the 1500 km corridor, and India is hoping to attract more than US$90 billion worth of investments.
India Minister for Trade and Commerce, Anand Sharma, said: "The Delhi-Mumbai corridor we have discussed and the investment nodes and urged Minister Lim to encourage Singapore entities, bringing together on one platform all stakeholders to invest in one of the 24 nodes indentified under the Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor, which will in fact be covering six states in India.
"230 million population and taking in investment of 90 billion dollars, in the corridor which will be 1500 km long."
India and Singapore will review their Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement or CECA over the next 12 months.
They have agreed to meet every quarter to complete their second review of CECA.
India wants to further open up the services sector, and mutual recognition of professionals such as doctors, architects, nurses and accountants.
The two sides have also agreed to strengthen co-operation in science and technology, intellectual property rights, and research and development.
Under the agreement, India and Singapore hope to double their bilateral trade to US$32 billion in the next five years.
With the operationalisation of CECA in 2005, the two countries have opened up their trade in goods and services by reducing and eliminating duties.
While the bilateral trade has been growing at 20 per cent since the implementation of CECA, the second review aimed at improving the trade, services and investment chapters, will further open up the markets of the two countries for investment.
- CNA/jy
The deal was sealed by Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang while on a visit to New Delhi.
He is also there to review the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
India is the world's fourth largest maker of generic or off-patent drugs.
In the last two years, drug patents worth an estimated US$40 billion have expired, creating an opportunity for India to produce and sell these drugs at a lower cost.
But to sell to foreign markets, these drugs must be cleared by the importing country.
And Singapore has signed a pact with India, to simplify the process.
Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, said: "Basically, whenever Indian companies produce generics, you have to go through a regulatory process, of registering and getting regulatory clearance.
"What we have agreed is that you can do that in the normal way but if your generics have already cleared through one of the five countries - US, Canada, EU, UK or Australia - Singapore would take that as already cleared and we would import it without additional clearance from a generic company."
India has also invited Singapore to invest in its Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor project.
It involves building 24 industrial zones along the 1500 km corridor, and India is hoping to attract more than US$90 billion worth of investments.
India Minister for Trade and Commerce, Anand Sharma, said: "The Delhi-Mumbai corridor we have discussed and the investment nodes and urged Minister Lim to encourage Singapore entities, bringing together on one platform all stakeholders to invest in one of the 24 nodes indentified under the Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor, which will in fact be covering six states in India.
"230 million population and taking in investment of 90 billion dollars, in the corridor which will be 1500 km long."
India and Singapore will review their Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement or CECA over the next 12 months.
They have agreed to meet every quarter to complete their second review of CECA.
India wants to further open up the services sector, and mutual recognition of professionals such as doctors, architects, nurses and accountants.
The two sides have also agreed to strengthen co-operation in science and technology, intellectual property rights, and research and development.
Under the agreement, India and Singapore hope to double their bilateral trade to US$32 billion in the next five years.
With the operationalisation of CECA in 2005, the two countries have opened up their trade in goods and services by reducing and eliminating duties.
While the bilateral trade has been growing at 20 per cent since the implementation of CECA, the second review aimed at improving the trade, services and investment chapters, will further open up the markets of the two countries for investment.
- CNA/jy
- wong chee tat :)
