Singapore sees China FTA by next year
Friday, 13 July 2007
SINGAPORE, July 12 (AFP): Singapore can expect to conclude a free trade agreement with China by next year, a top government official said in remarks published today after meeting China's Vice Premier Wu Yi.
Talks on the FTA began last October.
"We think one to two years could be a reasonable time (frame) to look at" for conclusion of an agreement, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng was quoted as saying in The Straits Times.
Wong spoke after co-chairing a meeting with Wu, whose four-day official visit to the city-state was to end Thursday.
The report said both sides agreed the FTA should build on an FTA separately being negotiated between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Singapore is a member of the 10-member regional bloc.
Talks on the FTA began last October.
"We think one to two years could be a reasonable time (frame) to look at" for conclusion of an agreement, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng was quoted as saying in The Straits Times.
Wong spoke after co-chairing a meeting with Wu, whose four-day official visit to the city-state was to end Thursday.
The report said both sides agreed the FTA should build on an FTA separately being negotiated between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Singapore is a member of the 10-member regional bloc.