Singapore, India navies ink bilateral deal

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Indian Navy have signed a Navy Bilateral Agreement which expands areas of naval cooperation between the two countries.

Under the agreement, which was inked in New Delhi on November 29, the RSN and the Indian Navy will step up cooperation in maritime security, increase visits to each other’s ports, and facilitate mutual logistics support.

On the same day, Ng Eng Hen and Nirmala Sitharaman, Singapore’s and India’s ministers for defense, held the second India-Singapore Defence Ministers’ Dialogue, where they reaffirmed the strong defense ties between the two nations.

At a joint press conference following the dialogue, Sitharaman said: “The signing of the navy agreement today reflects our intention and commitment to further the cooperative endeavors in our shared maritime domain.”

Ng Eng Hen stressed that Singapore welcomed greater practical cooperation between India and Southeast Asian countries, particularly India’s proposal for a new multilateral exercise in the Andaman Sea.