Article Posted on : - Aug 20, 2014

NEW DELHI (PTI): Singapore has requested India to review its decision to blacklist its defence firm ST Kinetics, which was barred from doing business with India for 10 years for its alleged role in the 2009 Ordnance Factory Board bribery scandal.

Major defence firms including Singapore Technologies, IMI of Israel, Swiss Rheinmetall and Corporation Defence of Russia were the four foreign companies which were blacklisted by the UPA government for their alleged role in the OFB scam in 2012.

A request has been received from Singapore for removal of the ten-year ban on ST Kinetics and it is under consideration of the government, Defence Ministry sources told PTI here.

The request was made to the Indian government a few days ago before Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen's visit here on Tuesday.

The issue of removal of the Singaporean firm is understood to have come up for discussion during talks between Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and his Singaporean counterpart.

ST Kinetics was taking part in tenders to supply light howitzers, all-terrain vehicles and assault rifles to the Indian armed forces when the government put on hold the deals with it and later barred it for doing business for 10 years.

In the talks, India and Singapore discussed ways to enhance defence cooperation and "continue the robust engagements and to continue to work together to further substantiate defence interactions in the areas of mutual benefit."

A Defence Ministry release said the two countries also "acknowledged the role of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus framework in promoting dialogue and consensus in the Asia Pacific Region."

Singaporean armed forces use Indian military bases for training its military personnel under a pact signed between the two countries.