The Hindu Business Line : Guidebook on India, Singapore economic pact released

THE complexities of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) have been `simplified' for practical use. A guidebook on CECA, jointly published by several organisations in Singapore, was formally released last week.

The economic pact, signed last June, is the first of its `comprehensive' kind for India, and Singapore has reaffirmed its "commitment" to CECA in the evolving situation of mutual expectations about the scope and pace of implementation.

It is in this context that the Singapore-Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), the Institute of South Asian Studies, International Enterprise Singapore, Rajah & Tann Advocates and Solicitors, Network India, and the Singapore Business Federation have brought out the `comprehensive' guidebook in far fewer pages than the economic pact itself.

The various aspects of CECA, including dispute settlement and the prospects of an enhanced air-services pact, are explained, with answers to frequently-asked questions completing the presentation in almost all areas of interest to the potential beneficiaries.

Formally receiving a copy of the guidebook from the SICCI Chairman, Mr M. Rajaram, the Singapore Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, hailed the "timely" publication. "Amidst the growing crowd of Indiaphiles, we endeavour to keep the Singapore brand a special one," he said, underscoring CECA's value.

"While it is true that India is still a new frontier for global businesses, it is also true that this frontier is rapidly shrinking. India can no longer be treated as an alternative market that is secondary to China." In the global economic calculus, it is now a matter of "China plus India," the Minister said.

Ms Leena Pinsler, Head of South Asia Practice at Rajah & Tann, said the guidebook, authored by this firm, was designed to "decipher the code" in which CECA was clothed and "demystify" the terminologies of the pact.

Presenting the business perspective on the guidebook, Mr Vijay Iyengar, SICCI Vice-Chairman, said that "most businessmen were pleasantly surprised" at the vast scope of CECA and the way it was crafted in the context of a timeframe that was set.

The economic pact "is structured as an integrated package," and the periodic-review process, as envisioned, "will provide a feedback mechanism" for voicing the "concerns of businesses on either side."

Mr Iyengar said, "CECA will provide a strategic framework for India to play a larger role in Asia, leading to a deeper engagement with ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations)."