S'pore-EU FTA ratification can catalyse Asean-EU pact: PM Lee

Singapore

THE ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Singapore and the European Union (EU) would signal that EU is "open for business", and encourage an Asean-EU FTA deal, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday.

Singapore is the EU's largest commercial partner in Asean: trade between the two accounted for about one-third of Asean-EU trade in goods and services, said the European Commission. Negotiations for the EU-Singapore FTA ended last year, and the deal is now awaiting ratification by the European parliament.

"I'm not sure it's held up.…