India and Singapore are expected to sign a comprehensive economic agreement in April this year when Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong visits New Delhi, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani said on Wednesday.

Concluding his four-day visit to Singapore, Advani told reporters that the details of the economic agreement would be discussed in the meeting the Singapore prime minister would have with his Indian counterpart during his visit.

Expressing satisfaction over his visit, the deputy prime minister--who had come here on an official invitation from his Singapore counterpart--said there was a general consensus that the joint working groups of the two countries work in a time-bound manner.

During his stay, he had meetings with the Singapore president, the prime minister and other senior officials.

He appreciated the high-level contacts the two countries had and said efforts were made during his talks to evolve steps to increase bilateral trade as well as investments.

''During my visit, special emphasis was laid on increasing cooperation in the field of tourism, information technology and life sciences,'' he said.

Advani said the two countries were also cooperating in the sphere of bio-technology, initiated during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Singapore last September. The deputy prime minister said there was a general consensus to exploit the tourism potential the two countries offered.

''For this, Singapore's Tourism Minister George Yo has extended an invitation to his Indian counterpart and we expect that a joint meeting can soon be arranged,'' Advani said.

He said India had made concerted efforts to increase trade with South-East Asian countries. Also, Advani expressed hope that India's proposal for a Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN countries would be completed in the envisaged time-frame.

He said during his talks with leaders in Singapore, there was an agreement that terrorism should be curbed in all its forms.

UNI