India and Singapore on Tuesday inked a joint declaration on strategic partnership to boost cooperation areas such as smart cities and urban solutions.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong signed the joint declaration. Both the Prime Ministers signed the declaration following bilateral talks before lunch on Tuesday.

"From the Jt Declaratn on Strategic Partnership to Defence, Cyber Security, Shipping, Culture, the Agreements showcase strength of b/l ties," spokesperson of the external affairs ministry Vikas Swarup said in a tweet.

"A large bandwidth of coopn. 10 bilateral documents signed between #IndiaSingapore cutting across sectors," he added.

The strategic partnership is also of importance for better connectivity between India and Singapore, to promote trade and investment between the two nations, Channel NewsAsia reported.

The two nations also signed 10 other agreements, including revised Defence Cooperation agreement that was inked by Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. 

Under the Defence Cooperation agreement, both the nations will maintain regular Defence Ministers' Dialogue, boost cooperation in areas, including maritime security, defence technology, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Both the nations also signed a couple of memorandum of understanding (MoU), one to increase cooperation against drug trafficking, and another on cybersecurity.

Modi and Lee noted their shared interest in furthering cooperation in the areas of science and technology, particularly in space, bio-medicine and ayurveda, Swarup tweeted.

The two Prime Ministers also released two postal stamps showing the Rashtrapati Bhavan and Singaporean presidential palace Istana, to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Modi, who was invited by Singapore Prime Minister Lee, met President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Modi arrived in Singapore from Malaysia on Monday on a bilateral visit in the second and last leg of his four-day visit to southeast Asia. India and Singapore commemorate 50 years of diplomatic ties this year.

 (With agency inputs)

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