ROME, Italy: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore may consider setting up an embassy in Rome if the number of direct flights to Italy increases.

Speaking to the Singapore media at the end of his visit to Italy, Mr Lee said besides Rome, Singapore businesses should also attract investments from other European cities.

As the capital of Italy, Rome is the heart of the country's rich historical and cultural heritage, attracting millions of tourists each year from around the world, including Singapore.

So when MM Lee met Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the latter took the opportunity to ask Singapore to consider setting up an embassy in Rome.

In response, Mr Lee gave this yardstick – a country's importance to Singapore is measured by the amount of trade and investments between the two sides.

And he believes, if economic activity between Italy and Singapore reaches half of that between Singapore and France or Germany, it will be worthwhile to look into setting up the embassy in Rome.

Singapore's current trade with Italy is worth about S$5 billion.

Although Mr Lee has been assured that an Italian business delegation is heading for Singapore later this year, the Minister Mentor added that another issue linked to the setting up of an embassy is the number of direct flights between cities.

He said: "We have 40 plus flights a week to London and Manchester, seven or eight flights a week to Paris, and 14 or 15 flights to Frankfurt. We only have three flights to Rome and recently, three to Milan. Alitalia does not fly to Singapore."

Mr Prodi then told Minister Mentor Lee they would look into increasing more flights between Singapore and Italy.

Mr Lee said he is confident the Italians would seriously consider the issue and he believes easier travel flow would lead to more traders and investors going both ways.

Another European city to keep an eye on is Barcelona.

MM Lee thinks, like Italy, Spain has the economic maturity to invest in other countries.

Before flying off from Rome, Mr Lee also met the president of a Confederation of Italian Industrialists, Luca Montezemolo.

Mr Montezemolo is also the president of Italian luxury race car manufacturer, Ferrari.

During the half-hour meeting, Mr Montezemolo told Mr Lee that a group of Italian small- and medium-sized delegation is heading to Singapore next spring.

This will include the fashion, design, food, furniture and high-end machine tools industries.

Another business delegation will also stop by in Singapore in December this year.


- CNA/so