China, Singapore and Norway inked here on Monday a Memorandum of Understanding on maritime research development, education and training.

The agreement was signed by visiting Chinese Communications Minister Li Shenglin, Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim and the Norwegian Embassy's Charge d'Affaires in the city state Lise Nordegaard.

The three sides believed that agreement will further strengthen cooperation in maritime and shipping research among the countries, and it will also allow for joint projects and exchange programs.

The ties between China and Singapore in the maritime sector have been growing stronger over the years.

In May 2004, China and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding on maritime cooperation, 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, 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.

Source: Xinhua