SINGAPORE, CHINA AND NORWAY SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) ON MARITME RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Singapore, Ministry of Communications of the People’s Republic of China, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Kingdom of Norway signed a MOU on Maritime Research and Development, and Education and Training today. The MOU was signed between Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Raymond Lim, Chinese Minister for Communications, Mr. Li Shenglin and Ms Lise Nordegaard, Charge d’Affaires of the Royal Norwegian Embassy.
2. The MOU will foster greater cooperation in the area of maritime and shipping related research, development and training for the three countries. This is the first time that Singapore is signing a tripartite MOU in these areas. The MOU includes cooperative frameworks for joint projects of mutual interest and exchange programmes, and will be an important platform for Singapore to further develop joint research initiatives in the maritime field with key partners such as China and Norway.
3. The ties between China and Singapore in the maritime sector have been growing stronger over the years. In May 2004, both countries signed the China-Singapore Maritime Cooperation MOU, paving the way for bilateral cooperation in areas such as shipping, port management and development, maritime safety, training, maritime research and development. The China-Singapore Maritime Transport Agreement (MTA), signed in 1989, was also strengthened in March 2005 to allow Chinese and Singapore shipping companies to establish wholly-owned subsidiaries in Singapore and China respectively, without any geographical limitation. The trade and investment relations between Singapore and China have grown from strength to strength, with China being one of the fastest growth markets for the Singapore port. In 2003, China’s major shipping firm COSCO Pacific Limited was the first shipping line to embark on a joint venture with PSA Corporation Ltd to operate a terminal in Singapore, symbolizing our close partnership at the industry level.
4. Singapore and Norway have been collaborating on maritime research projects since 2000. Earlier this year, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) extended their MOU on Maritime Research and Development for another three years. This facilitates research and development projects on maritime education and training, offshore engineering and maritime infocomm technology. By extending these collaborative arrangements to China, the tripartite MOU enhances knowledge exchange between the three countries.
Ministry of Transport
Singapore
28 August 2006
