SINGAPORE : Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to share information and findings to mitigate climate change.

For a start, both countries agreed to focus on energy efficiency and joint training programmes for capacity building.

This was decided by the Environment Ministers of both countries at their two-day meeting in Malaysia, which ends on August 25.

The meeting is part of the Annual Exchange of Visits (AEV).

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Yaacob Ibrahim is in Malaysia at the invitation of Mr Azmi Khalid, the Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

During the visit, the ministers also reviewed the progress of work carried out by the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE).

There were fruitful discussions and exchanges of views on various issues.

On haze, both Singapore and Malaysia agreed to share information and experiences on their respective collaboration with the Indonesian provinces.

As for the control of vehicular emissions, both countries will continue to share experiences in tackling vehicular pollution which is a mutual concern.

The ministers reiterated the need to further improve the water quality in the Straits of Johor (SoJ).

They agreed that the next emergency response exercise at the Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing would be organised by Singapore, tentatively in November 2007.

The first table-top emergency response exercise at the East Johor Straits would be organised by Singapore, tentatively in the first quarter of 2008.

The ministers also agreed for the MSJCE to cooperate in the prevention of oil spills in the SoJ, besides the existing mechanism for dealing with chemical spills.

The two countries will also continue to jointly monitor water quality within Sungei Skudai Water Catchment.

The Singapore Environment Institute (SEI) and the Environment Institute of Malaysia (EiMAS) have conducted several training exchange programmes and there are plans to conduct more similar ones in future.

This is the 21st time the Environment Ministers of the two countries are meeting under the AEV framework. - CNA /ls