Under the MOU, which is the first between the two countries on civil aviation cooperation, China and Singapore will explore the possibility of jointly setting up a training center in China, organize a series of lectures where civil aviation professionals from china will be invited to speak to the Singaporean aviation community, and exchange programs to promote greater mutual understanding between the two aviation authorities.

The MOU will set the stage for regular dialogues between the two countries to further promote air services and tourism development, said a press release published Thursday morning by the Ministry of Transport of Singapore.

Singaporean Minister for Transport Yeo Chewo Tong, who signed the MOU together with Yang Yuanyuan, Minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, said at the signing ceremony that the MOU sets out the framework for cooperation between Singapore and China in all areas of civil aviation.

"This broad cooperation framework was first discussed when I visited China in September this year. I am very happy to note that we have managed to work out the terms of the MOU within such a short period of time," said Yeo.

Yang Yuanyan said at the ceremony that the significance of the signing of the MOU is not restricted to the development of the relations between civil aviation industries of China and Singapore. He said he considers it a kicking-start to further expand China's civil aviation services to ASEAN (Association of South Eastern Asian Nations) countries.

Yang and Yeo also signed the Confidential Memorandum of Understanding (CMU) later Thursday to expand the Air Services Agreement (ASA) capacity between Singapore and China, which was inked in February this year.

The new CUM allows the ASA capacity for passenger services to increase by about 75 percent and cargo capacity to be tripled by 2004, according to the Ministry of Transport release.

With the expansion of the ASA, Chinese airlines are now able to operate from any point in China to Singapore, said Minister Yeo.

Five Chinese carriers currently operate flights to Singapore, with a total of 56 weekly passenger services from six cities in China (Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Kunming, Shanghai, and Xiament).

Yang Yuanyuan is here on a four-day visit to Singapore on Dec.11-14 at the invitation of Yeo Cheow Tong. This is his first official visit to the city state since he was appointed minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China. Yang is scheduled to call upon Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on Friday.

(People's Daily December 13, 2002)