Making his first visit to this federally administered city, which serves as the joint capital of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, Mr Goh said one of his key tasks since taking charge as Senior Minister was to point Singaporeans to new areas of opportunity.

One such area he had opened to Singapore was the Middle East, although he regretted not having travelled there five years sooner. Singaporeans are discovering there is more to the area than merely oil.

'I do hope to go back from here saying maybe I should have come to Chandigarh sooner, but it's never too late,' he said.

Mr Goh, who is on a five-day trip to New Delhi and Chandigarh, was addressing top businessmen of the two states at a dinner hosted by the northern Indian chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

He arrived in India on Sunday night, accompanied by Senior Minister of State Balaji Sadasivan, Member of Parliament K. Shanmugam and senior officials.

He travels to New Delhi tomorrow, where he will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders.

Mr Goh said India's current expansion, even at its current brisk rates, was below the economy's true potential.

'I share the view that India will see double-digit growth. I think the potential can be easily 10 to 12 per cent,' he said.