By IANS
New Delhi : India and Singapore Tuesday signed a "landmark" pact on setting up a joint ministerial committee to boost bilateral cooperation and announced establishment of a strategic dialogue.
The pact was signed by Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a three-day visit to the city state, and his Singapore counterpart George Yeo in Singapore.
The committee, to be co-chaired by the two foreign ministers, will chart out a roadmap for bilateral relations and provide a framework for monitoring and implementing commitments by the two sides.
The two ministers also announced the establishment of a track II strategic dialogue to explore "new areas for cooperation" between the two countries, which are steadily expanding economic ties, especially after they signed a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) in 2005.
The dialogue will be an annual interactive forum that will bring closer non-government organisations, think tanks, policy makers, members of parliament and businessmen of both countries.
The dialogue would be co-chaired by Indian prime minister's special envoy S.K. Lambah and Tommy Koh, Singapore's ambassador-at-large.
Mukherjee also called on President S.R. Nathan, a Singaporean of Tamil Indian descent, and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and discussed with them bilateral relations, including political and cultural ties, expanding economic relations and defence and security issues.
"Singapore is not only the largest trading partner, it's also the biggest investor to India from this region," Mukherjee said at a joint press conference with Yeo.
Mukherjee thanked Yeo for Singapore's decision to participate in the proposed International University at Nalanda in the Indian state of Bihar, which would be developed as a Centre for Buddhist and Secular Learning with active participation of interested countries within the East Asia Summit.
The minister spoke to him about India's decision to establish a Nalanda Mentor Group, which would examine the framework of international cooperation for the Nalanda university.
The two ministers also discussed India-Singapore relations in the context of greater integration between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and regional issues covering South Asia as well as Southeast Asia, external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said.
The minister "emphasized the importance of institutional arrangements to strengthen the relationship", he said.
"We see India playing a greater role in the maintenance of peace and in creating conditions for development on all of Asia in this century," said Yeo.
"Singapore and India are bound by ties of history, culture and blood. And we see all these links becoming much more important as we look into the future," Yeo added.
Singapore is not only India's largest trading partner in the ASEAN, but is also home to some 2,500 Indian companies with diverse business interests. Bilateral trade surged to $13 billion last year.
Mukherjee, who arrived in Singapore Monday evening, began his official engagements Tuesday with a visit to the site of the INA (Indian National Army) Memorial in Singapore established in honour of the legendary Indian freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose who spent the eventful years 1943-1945 in Singapore.
The minister then launched the 12th volume of Netaji's "Collected Works", edited by eminent academic Sugata Bose, at a function held at the Raffles Hotel.
"In a national movement that was driven by secularism, Netaji was probably the most secular of its leaders. His commands, directives and speeches, particularly of the INA period, convey that commitment in the strongest terms," he said at the function.
India and Singapore will set up a group to explore the heritage of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in the India-Singapore context.