President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam of India began his two-day state visit to Singapore on Wednesday, aiming to further strengthen the two countries' cooperation at all levels, especially in the field of economy.

After inspecting a guard-of-honor at the Istana, Singapore's President Palace, President Kalam held talks with his Singapore counterpart S. R. Nathan, who himself visited 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-Indian ties as such ties will benefit both sides.

Later this afternoon, the Indian president will deliver the 27th Singapore Lecture entitled "Evolution of Enlightened Societies on our Planet" .

During his stay here, President Kalam will also meet with Singapore's Prime Minister 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 Defense Teo Chee Hean.

In recent years, bilateral ties between Singapore and India have been further strengthened with the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) the launch of the Singapore-India Partnership Foundation.

Singapore is also trying to join hands with India by developing a large special economic zone in the South Asian country.

Currently, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries stands at around 7 billion U.S. dollars. Singapore is now India's third largest foreign investor while India has more than 1,600 companies operating in the city state.

Source: Xinhua