Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has urged India to consider greater economic integration with Southeast Asia in order to unlock the country’s immense potential.
While speaking virtually at the opening session of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) annual meeting on Wednesday (11 August), Mr Heng stressed that the region and India have many complementary strengths, adding that jurisdictions should be created based on these to restore connectivity and enhance supply chains in the post-pandemic period.
“India has an important role to play in contributing to the diversification of the global supply chain and making it more resilient,” said the DPM.
He added, “Indian companies have the capabilities, scale and resources to serve more than just its domestic market, huge as it is.”
In the Wednesday’s session, which was moderated by Dr Naushad Forbes, co-chairman of India-headquartered engineering firm Forbes Marshall and former president of CII, Mr Heng pointed out that it is crucial for ASEAN and India to enhance digital connectivity.
Mr Heng also reiterated that India is still welcome to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) when the country is ready.
The RCEP, which is the world’s biggest trade pact, involves all 10 ASEAN members and key partners Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
The RCEP came into effect in November 2020, with Singapore ratifying the agreement in April this year. India pulled out of the partnership in 2019.
Additionally, Mr Heng also said that Singapore is interested to partner with India to better integrate their digital economies and collaborate in new areas of opportunities like FinTech and sustainability.
“As more activities go digital as a result of the pandemic, there is even greater impetus to accelerate our efforts to integrate our digital realms, and enable the more seamless flow of data, services and payments,” he said.
One such initiative is a partnership between Singapore’s Nets and India’s National Payments Corporation to ease offline and online merchant transactions.
Mr Heng, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, added that Singapore is focusing on growing urban solutions and agri-tech, noting that many opportunities can be explored together by businesses in both countries.
The DPM also mentioned how India made great efforts to improve its business climate and attract foreign investments, and this can be seen as the country rose to the 63th position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index in 2020.
India was ranked 142nd in 2014.
In fact, Mr Heng noted that India’s move to improve its regulatory climate has even benefited its industries, including its tech sector. India has now nearly 60 tech unicorns, or start-ups valued at over US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion).
If that’s not all, India’s young population can also cause a significant demographic dividend if it can make the most of new opportunities and get its people to take on these jobs, said Mr Heng.
“I look forward to greater momentum for reform, innovation and human capital development in India.”
Mr Heng also went on to highlight about the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and how it has benefited both the countries, including growth in bilateral trade.
In recent years, Singapore has been India’s largest source of foreign direct investments, and India’s investment here has also increased.
Mr Heng asserted that the cooperation between both the nations can also be witnessed when COVID-19 hit the world, with India keeping the supply chain for essential goods open and Singapore donating medical supplies when India was experiencing its second wave of infections.
“As we seek to emerge from the pandemic and navigate towards a new normal, Singapore and India can build our strong relationship to even greater heights,” he added.