Goh Chok Tong, Senior Minister of the Republic of Singapore, said on Monday that India's economy can grow by 7 to 8 per cent annually over the next ten years.

In an interaction with the media and industrialists in Ahmedabad, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Goh said that India has great potential, but a large number of Indians do not know what they are capable of.

He said that Singapore and India have the potential to expand cooperation. "But for this to happen, the country needs to change the way it does some things," he said.

Singapore can act as a catalyst to prod the Indian government and its businessmen to bring about change, claimed Goh. "There are around 1,526 Indian firms in Singapore," he added.

Talking about initiating work in India, Goh said he will request Singapore officials to work with the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and National Institute of Design (NID).

It was his first visit to the state of Gujarat. "Singapore can help Gujarat in areas like consultancy and designing state projects," said Goh.

He also suggested that in the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, governing bodies should clear the slums, improve the environment, transform the state's riverfront by turning the river into an active water space. "To compare its riverfront with that of other world cities, they should maintain cleanliness which Singapore is doing for the past few years," he said.