India, Singapore agree to enhance scale of military interaction

India and Singapore have agreed to enhance the scale of existing bilateral military interaction and decided to expand the interaction between the armed forces.
Decision in this regard, was taken at inaugural Singapore-India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue (DMD). The Dialogue was co-chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Singapore counterpart Dr. Ng Eng Hen.
Besides, both ministers issued a joint statement after the meeting to strongly condemned terrorism and renewed their commitment to cooperation in counter terrorism efforts. It also emphasised the importance of safeguarding maritime security in international waterways.
Both countries also agreed cooperation between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Singapore research agency on research-oriented projects. They also agreed to collaborate between industries under ‘Make in India’ initiative.
India and Singapore had signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in 2003 which was revised in 2015.
During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore in November 2015, defence cooperation was identified as a key sector under the India-Singapore Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership.
In May 2016, both countries also had convened the first meeting of their Defence Industry Working Group. In it both sides agreed to set up industry level working mechanisms to foster cooperation in aerospace, electronics and other areas of mutual interest.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2016