Costa Rica and Singapore will begin negotiating a free trade agreement on April 20, the foreign trade ministry announced on Thursday. The first meeting will be held from April 20-22 in Singapore, the ministry said. Costa Rica's trade negotiating panel will have just wrapped up a second round of negotiations on a free trade deal with China on April 14-17. Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz said Singapore is "a market that has great possibilities for our industries since it is a country that imports most of its consumer goods and also offers interesting opportunities in the areas of services, innovation and technology." - AFP/de