M A I N   N E W S

India investment-friendly, PM assures Singapore
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

New Delhi, July 11
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today assured his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong of India’s commitment to reinforce its status as an investment-friendly destination as the two countries signed three accords, including one for the conduct of joint military training and exercises in India.

On a state visit to India, Lee, earlier in the day, did some plain-speaking, describing India's business environment as ‘complicated’ for investors and asked New Delhi to press ahead with economic reforms.

three accords inked A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to renew the bilateral arrangement between the Air Forces of the two countries on joint training and exercises The other agreements between the two countries were on facilitating cooperation in the field of vocational education and skill development

The other agreements between the two countries were on facilitating cooperation in the field of vocational education and skills development and on the setting up of a greenfield world class skills development centre in Delhi to provide state-of-the-art facility for skills development.

The pacts were inked after extensive talks between the two PMs. The two leaders are understood to have discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations as well as international issues, including India's growing ties with the ASEAN.

''Prime Minister Lee and I have decided to step up bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the fields of defence and security. To this end, we have just signed an MoU to renew the bilateral arrangement between our Air Forces on joint training and exercises,'' Manmohan Singh said in a statement after the talks.