SINGAPORE: The UAE and Singapore signed here today the agreement on protection and promotion of investment at the conclusion of the visit by UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid Al Tayer and the delegation to Singapore. The agreement was signed on the side of Singapore by Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade, Industry and National Development in the presence of Khalifa Saif Al Mazrouei, Charge d' Affaires of UAE Embassy in Singapore. The UAE was Singapore's 18th ranked trading partner last year, with bilateral trade amounting to S$13.9 billion, an increase of 19.7 percent from 2009. Currently, the UAE is also Singapore's second-largest trading partner in the GCC, and its largest export market in the region.