Singapore, India agree to beef up defence cooperation

Singaporean Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh co-chaired the countries’ 6th Defence Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi on October 22.

At the event (Photo: VNA)
At the event (Photo: VNA)

New Delhi (VNA) – Singaporean Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh co-chaired the countries’ 6th Defence Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi on October 22.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Defence of India, both sides acknowledged the deep and long-standing bilateral defence relations based on shared outlook on regional peace, stability and security. The ministers expressed satisfaction at the growing defence cooperation between the two countries and took note of regular engagements between their armed forces in recent years.

As 2025 marks 60 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore, they agreed to further step up defence cooperation and to achieve new feats. They also concured to extend the countries’ bilateral agreement on Joint Military Training Army for the next five years.

Recognising that both nations are natural partners for commencing co-development and co-production of defence equipment, both sides agreed to enhance industry cooperation, including exploring collaboration in niche domains such as automation and artificial intelligence. The two ministers also decided to take forward the cooperation in emerging areas like cyber security.

The Defence Minister of Singapore took the occasion to acknowledge that India is a strategic voice for Asia’s peace and stability./.

VNA

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