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A.P., Singapore sign 4 MoUs

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE Dec. 27. Four Memoranda of Understanding were signed between Andhra Pradesh and Singapore today to enhance scientific and economic cooperation. The MoUs were signed in the presence of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is here in connection with an international Telugu conference.

The Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry, George Yeo, and Mr. Naidu were the main

speakers at the inaugural session of the fifth World Telugu Federation Conference — the first of its kind to be held outside India. A significant proposal that gained currency during the talks that Mr. Naidu held with the Singapore leaders, outside the scope of the Telugu conference, was that Andhra Pradesh could set up a representative office here for interaction in the economic and scientific spheres. The idea, floated by Singapore, was that such an office might help catalyse the City-State's role as a "facilitator'' for purposes of India's interactive approach in raising its economic profile.

In a sense, the proposal set the mood for the Telugu conference as well and will need to be processed by India before it can take a definitive shape, according to diplomatic sources.

Of the four MoUs signed, one relates to bio-informatics, a frontier area of science, and another pertains to stem cell research and related activities. The MoU between Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet) and Andhra Pradesh provides for two-way "research and training collaborations.'' The MoU between Pacific Healthcare Holdings Pte. Ltd. and the State seeks to establish a biomedical research centre and a hospital at Hyderabad. The Singapore India Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed an MoU for greater economic links with Andhra Pradesh, while another ``understanding'' was aimed at promoting tourism.

The three-day conference, being organised by the World Telugu Federation and a Singapore-based ethnic association, would cover a wide gamut of issues ranging from traditional concerns to those of the cyber age and the high-tech era, the organisers said.

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