The governments of India and Singapore are planning to enter into an agreement to facilitate common clinical trials and to explore co-investment in the healthcare sector in both the countries.

According to Balaji Sadasivam, the Singapore minister for Health and Transport, facilitating better co-operation between the hospitals in Singapore and India and co-investment would be on the priority list for the trade agreements between the two countries. As part of liberalizing the hospital sector in both the countries, it was planned to sign an agreement on creating a uniform regulatory framework for clinical trials in both the countries. With this, simultaneous clinical trials could be conducted in India and Singapore. Further, it would open up avenues of better co-operation between the hospitals in India and Singapore, said the minister, who was in Chennai, this week.

He said the agreement was likely to be signed in April, this year.

He said the agreement, as part of the efforts of both the governments to enter into better trade relations in various sectors, would also pave way for roping in joint venture healthcare projects in a liberalized environment.

He said about 10 per cent of the population in Singapore seek advanced medical facilities abroad and a good percentage of them rely on specialty hospitals In India. Since the healthcare financing system in Singapore takes care of the medical needs of its citizens, more inflow of patients to Indian hospitals was unlikely even in a further liberalized environment. However, the agreement could pave way for joint efforts in various arms of healthcare, said the minister, who visited the Apollo Hospital, Chennai.

The minister also inaugurated an advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner at the Apollo hospital.