SINGAPORE: Singapore and Qatar will be stepping up bilateral cooperation in various fields including the legal, business, education and training sectors, after a range of agreements were signed on Tuesday (Oct 17).
The agreements were signed by organisations from both countries during Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani's two-day state visit to Singapore.
Sheikh Tamim had received a ceremonial welcome at the Istana, where he met President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday.
During the meeting with Mdm Halimah, the emir reaffirmed the "excellent ties" between Qatar and Singapore. With Mr Lee, the two leaders discussed bilateral relations, the two countries said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Mr Lee and Sheikh Tamim then witnessed the signing of four Memoranda of Understandings and three agreements.
Among them was an agreement between Singapore and Qatar on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments. The agreement sets up a framework for greater facilitation of trade and investment flows between the two countries.
Both leaders also reviewed the Qatar-Singapore High Level Joint Committee and reaffirmed it as a "key pillar of bilateral cooperation", the joint statement said.
Established in 2006, the committee is co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean and Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Mr Lee and Sheikh Tamim also agreed to incorporate the Implementation Monitoring Mechanism under the High Level Joint Committee framework to "ensure regular follow-up and optimal implementation of initiatives", the joint statement added.
The mechanism will establish a channel for ministries and agencies from both countries to work more closely and effectively together.
Five technical committees in the fields of information communication technology, security, business, legal and sustainability will be established and overseen by the foreign affairs ministers of Singapore and Qatar, who will be the mechanism's co-chairs.
Singapore’s Civil Service College also signed an agreement to cooperate in the development of the Qatar Investment Authority's employees.
Additionally, an agreement on judicial cooperation was inked between Singapore’s Supreme Court and Qatar’s Supreme Judiciary Council.
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