SINGAPORE, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Singapore and Malaysia agreed on Monday to further liberalise air services between the two neighbours, the city-state said.

Budget carriers from both countries will be allowed to operate between Singapore and the East Malaysia cities of Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Miri, Singapore's Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

The agreement takes effect from November 1, allowing budget carriers from each country to operate seven weekly flights to each of the three cities, it said.

On February 1 the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur sector became the first to open to budget airlines. The move ended 30 years of dominance by the two countries' national carriers.

By December 1 the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route will be fully liberalised under a pact by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to remove all restrictions on passenger flights between regional capitals.

Malaysia-based AirAsia pioneered regional low-cost travel early this decade, and spawned a host of imitators.