Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso announced the opening of an Indian Embassy in Santo Domingo and a counterpart Dominican Embassy in New Delhi, India. He made the announcement on occasion of the visit of his Indian colleague, Rao Inderjit Singh. The foreign minister explained that the government of India is interested in manufacturing products here for export to the US under the preferential terms of the free trade agreement the country has signed with the US. The ministers are working on bilateral accords, such as a technological cooperation agreement whereby Dominican students would receive scholarships for study in India. Another area for discussion is pharmaceuticals. Formal relations were established in 1999 between the DR and India, where the country is represented by the Cuban ambassador.