|
Nehru spirit prevails as Manmohan lands in Singapore
Sunday November 20, 2011 11:06:09 AM,
Minu Jain,
IANS
|
|
Singapore: Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh reached here from Bali Saturday night for
the final leg of his four-day 'Look East' tour to meet the
leadership of this city state and also to unveil a Nehru bust
along the picturesque Singapore river.
Manmohan Singh will meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President
Tony Tan and also call on Singapore's former minister mentor Lee
Kuan Yew. He will then leave for the Asian Civilisations Museum
where he unveils a marker of India's first prime minister
Jawaharlal Nehru.
So far, Singapore has "marked" only four personalities - Polish
English writer Joseph Conrad, father of modern Vietnam Ho Chi Minh,
Filipino revolutionary leader Jose Rizal and Chinese leader Deng
Xiaoping.
Singapore is India's largest trade and investment partner from the
ASEAN region and accounts for a third of its overall trade with
southeast Asia.
Bilateral trade has increased from $8.7 billion in 2005-06 to
$17.4 billion in 2011. And as Manmohan Singh moves ahead with his
'Look East' policy Sunday, he will also be looking to further
enhance this trade.
An estimated 3,800 "Indian" companies have registered their
presence here. New Delhi has also signed a Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in 2005, the first for India.
Manmohan Singh has come to Singapore after attending the
India-ASEAN and East Asia Summits and will be hoping to increase
the engagement with the region.
The last bilateral visit here by an Indian prime minister was by
Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002. The Singapore prime minister had
visited India in 2005.
(Minu Jain can be contacted at minu.jain@ians.in)
|
|
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links