Kalam
has talks with Singaporean President
by Gaurav Shrivastava
Singapore:
Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam today held talks with
his Singaporean counterpart S R Nathan, starting a two-day
official visit to the country. Wide-ranging bilateral and
international issues and talks on major economic pacts with
the Asian giant are understood to have figured. Kalam who
arrived in Singapore on Tuesday evening leading a high-level
delegation, after inspecting a guard-of- honor at Singaporean
President Palace, "Istana" today held one- to-one meeting
lasting for nearly 30 minutes with Nathan who himself had
made a state visit to India in 2003. President Kalam also
met with Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who
is believed to be a firm supporter of closer Singapore-India
ties.
He will also deliver the Singapore Lecture and interact
students and faculty of the National University of Singapore
and the Nanyang Technical University, besides visiting the
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the Public Utility Board and a desalination
plant there. Kalam is also likely to visit the Museum of
Asian Civilisations and the Singapore Fine Arts Society.
Kalam, who is on a three-nation tour of Singapore, Philippines
and South Korea is scheduled to discuss a range of issues
including trade, agriculture and science and technology.
Later in the day, President Kalam will deliver the 27th
Singapore Lecture entitled "Evolution of Enlightened Societies
on our Planet" organised by Singapore's Institute of South-East
Asian Studies. The President is also scheduled to visit
the National University and the Biopolis Stem cell research
centre, where he will interact with the faculty members
and students. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng would chair
the lecture, which has become one of the intellectual highlights
of Singapore. Lee Hsien Loong, who witnessed the signing
of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
with India on his visit last year, will host lunch for the
President and his delegation. A State banquet will be hosted
by the Singaporean President in honour of President Kalam
tonight.
During his stay here, President Kalam will also meet Lee
Hsien Loong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Minister for
Foreign Affairs George Yeo, Minister for Trade and Industry
Lim Hng Kiang and Minister for Defence Teo CheeHean. Singapore
is also looking at jointly developing a large special economic
zone with India by getting Japanese companies involved in
the projects. On the international front, Singapore has
publicly endorsed and supported India's membership and candidature
for regional groupings in Southeast Asia and the permanent
membership of the UN Security Council. Singapore has been
a very important partner of India in the region, in ASEAN.
Over the recent years, Singapore firms have increased their
presence in India. In June last year, during Prime Minister
Lee's India visit, the two countries had signed the Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which is the first
of its kind that India has signed. There is a Joint Working
Group between Indian and Singapore to cooperate in the field
of terrorism and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. The CECA
is an integrated package comprising a free trade agreement,
a bilateral agreement on investment promotion and protection,
an improved double taxation avoidance agreement and a work
programme for cooperation in healthcare, education, media
and tourism. India's ties with Singapore date back to the
founding of the city-state, when British colonial administrator
Sir Stamford Raffles arrived to establish a trading outpost
in 1819.
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