India, Singapore sign agreement on training facilities for army

New Delhi: India and Singapore have signed a fresh agreement to extend the use of training and exercise facilities in India by the Singapore Army for another five years beginning August this year. According to an official release Tuesday, the agreement was signed Monday night by Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur and the Singapore`s Permanent Secretary of Defence Chiang Chie Foo. The agreement was signed in presence of Defence Minister AK Antony and Singapore`s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.

Antony arrived in Singapore Monday evening as part of his three-nation visit. He will also visit Australia and Thailand. The release said that a bilateral agreement for utilisation of facilities in India by the Singapore Air Force and the Indian Army was signed in October 2007 and August 2008, respectively. The agreement for training and exercises of Singapore Air Force in India was extended up to October 2017 during the visit of Singapore`s permanent secretary of defence to India in July last year. The release said Singapore is the only country to which India is offering such facilities. The two sides held wide ranging talks on defence cooperation. They also exchanged views on global and regional security issues including security in Asia-Pacific region. PTI