Strategic Partnership: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on October 04, 2016.

Describing Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong as a ‘friend of India', PM Modi has said that ‘defence and security cooperation is a key pillar' of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Welcoming the Singapore PM in New Delhi, PM Modi recalled that during his last visit to Singapore, the two countries had upgraded their bilateral relationship to the level of a Strategic Partnership with "Renewed Spirit, New Energy".

"To deliver benefits to both our people, our partnership aims to combine the strengths of Singapore with the scale of India; and dynamism of Singapore with vibrancy of our States," Modi said. The two PMs also signed two MOUs focused on skill development: one, to set up a Skill Development Centre for India's North Eastern States in Guwahati; and the other with the National Skill Development Council.

Modi further highlighted that the trade and investment ties form the bedrock of the bilateral relationship between the two nations. "We enjoy a strong network of business to business partnerships. In this context, Prime Minister Lee and I have agreed to expedite the second review of our Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.

The MOU on Intellectual Property, which has been signed today, will facilitate greater business to business exchanges and collaborations. Prime Minister Lee and I also welcome the issuance of corporate Rupee bonds in Singapore. It is a step forward in our efforts to mobilize capital for India's large infrastructure development needs," he said.

Pointing out that defence and security cooperation is a key pillar of the strategic partnership between the two countries, Modi said that both have agreed to enhance cooperation to counter the threats to peace, including in the domain of cyber security.

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