Third CECA review in Sept 2018
India and Singapore have signed the Second Protocol amending the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in New Delhi on 24 Aug 2018.
The Protocol was signed by Deputy Chief Negotiators, Rajneesh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Francis Chong, Senior Director, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (pic above).
The signing of the Second Protocol, amending CECA, will boost bilateral trade between India and Singapore.
The CECA was the first comprehensive agreement covering trade in goods, services and investments, which India had signed with any of its trading partners.
The CECA was signed on 29th June 2005 and its first review was concluded on 1st October, 2007.
Signing of the Second Protocol formally brings to closure the negotiations on second review of CECA, which began on 11 May 2010.
India and Singapore have successfully reached mutual understanding and agreement in closing the second review.
Both sides agreed to expand the coverage of tariff concessions, liberalize the Rules of Origin, rationalize Product Specific Rules and include provisions on Certificate of Origin and Cooperation on its verification.
These measures will further facilitate trade between India and Singapore and also improve utilization of CECA.
The Protocol amending CECA will give effect to the provisions agreed between India and Singapore during the closure of the Second Review of India Singapore CECA.
The conclusion of the Second Review of CECA was announced during the State visit of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to Singapore on 1 June 2018. The provisions of the Second Protocol will come into effect on 14 September 2018.
The two countries are exploring the possibility of launching the 3rd Review of India-Singapore CECA in September 2018.
Singapore is the second largest trading partner of India within ASEAN and India is the largest trading partner of Singapore in South Asia, with a bilateral trade of US$17.7 billion in 2017-18.
Singapore’s trade with India constitutes about 21.8% of the country’s total trade with ASEAN and 2.3% of its global trade. India had a trade surplus of US$2.73 billion with Singapore in 2017-18. fiinews.com
