SINGAPORE, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Singapore and Australia reaffirmed on Monday to enhance bilateral ties and strengthen cooperation on regional and international political, economic and security developments.

    Ministers from both countries held talks here at the sixth meeting of the Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee (SAJMC), a high-level bilateral dialogue mechanism where Singapore and Australian ministers review bilateral, regional and international developments.

    "The ministers reaffirmed that bilateral relations are excellent," said a joint communique after the meeting, adding that " the ministers encouraged officials on both sides to explore new areas of cooperation to bring the strategic partnership to an even higher level."

    The two sides noted that the bilateral defense relationship had grown deeper and broader in scope, and the two countries also share "one of the most significant bilateral economic partnerships in the region," according to the communique.

    They agreed to further areas of cooperation and interaction in science and technology, clean energy, and encourage more people-to-people and academic exchanges.

    On regional development issues, the two sides noted that the United States, China, Japan and India all had important roles to play in maintaining security and stability in the region.

    The ministers also agreed to enhance cooperation on information-sharing, to strengthen border systems and to enhance coordination among law enforcement agencies to address issues of people smuggling and trafficking in persons.

    The meeting was joined by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith, Minister for Defense John Faulkner and Minister for Trade Simon Crean, as well as their Singaporean counterpart, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo andMinister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.

    Since the Australia-Singapore Free Trade Agreement came into force in 2003, bilateral trade had more than doubled from 12 billion to 26 billion Singapore dollars in 2008 (from 8.3 billion to 18.1 billion U.S. dollars) .

    The SAJMC arose from the New Partnership initiative launched by the prime ministers of Singapore and Australia in 1996. The meeting is hosted alternately between Singapore and Australia, and the next SAJMC meeting will be held in Australia in 2011.

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