S’pore-India ties get boost with launch of two forums
Ministerial panel, Strategic Dialogue will promote cooperation at different levelsBy Lee Seok Hwai
SINGAPORE and India turned a new page in bilateral relations yesterday, launching two new forums to steer and develop cooperation.
Foreign Minister George Yeo and his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee agreed to set up and lead a Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC), which will be the highest-level official channel for the discussion of mutual interests and exchange of ideas between the two countries.
At the same time, they announced the launch of the bilateral Strategic Dialogue, which they said would gather together government officials, lawmakers, industrialists, academics and media representatives, all of whom influence decision-making, to explore new areas of cooperation.
The JMC will set the broad framework and direction for the development of India-Singapore relations, and complement existing exchanges such as those between the defence and economy-related ministries.
‘It’s a landmark agreement - for the first time between the two countries we’ve agreed to establish a regular forum at a ministerial level,’ said Mr Yeo at the signing ceremony.
While the date of the first meeting has not been set, Mr Yeo said he hoped the leaders will meet once a year.
Mr Mukherjee, the Indian External Affairs Minister, said the JMC will spur the growth of India-Singapore relations.
‘It demonstrates the maturity, depth and range of our rapidly developing bilateral ties,’ said Mr Mukherjee, one of India’s most experienced and senior leaders.
And underscoring the strength and openness of Singapore’s relationship with India, Mr Yeo said of the Strategic Dialogue: ‘We agreed that there will be no limits to what we’ll talk about.’
The Strategic Dialogue will be co-chaired by Indian Ambassador Satinder K. Lambah and Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh.
Plans for its inaugural session are in the pipeline.
India and Singapore have traditionally been strong partners, given their common cultural heritage, and economic ties have been flourishing since they inked the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2005.
Trade jumped 40 per cent last year to US$13 billion (S$20 billion), as Singapore became India’s second-largest source of foreign direct investment.
During a 50-minute meeting before speaking to the media, Mr Yeo and Mr Mukherjee also said they hoped the Asean-India free trade agreement negotiations would be concluded by the end of the year.
And Mr Mukherjee yesterday predicted even closer ties.
‘Both our countries have similar views and perspectives. The potential for bilateral cooperation between India and Singapore is immense,’ he told reporters.
The diplomats also emphasised Singapore-India cultural collaborations, such as the Nalanda project to revive an ancient Indian university, as well as a new study on Indian independence fighter Subhas Chandra Bose.
‘Singapore and India are bound by history, culture and blood,’ Mr Yeo said.
Mr Mukherjee, who is in Singapore on a three-day visit, earlier attended the launch of the book Chalo Delhi - a collection of writings and speeches of Bose, who rallied tens of thousands of Indians in South-east Asia to topple British colonial rule in the 1940s.
The Indian minister later called on President S R Nathan and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the Istana.
Today, he will deliver a public lecture, India’s Foreign Policy Priorities, at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
Source: The Straits Times, 20 June 2007
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