India-Singapore defense dialogue, affirming strong ties

On October 22, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen co-chaired the sixth Defense Ministers' Dialogue between the two countries in New Delhi.

India-Singapore Defense Ministers' Dialogue, October 22 in New Delhi. (Source: MINDEF)

The Straits Times reported that at the end of the dialogue, the Indian Ministry of Defense announced that both ministers recognized the deep and lasting bond in the defense relationship between the two countries, based on shared views on regional peace , stability and security.

Both sides expressed satisfaction at the growing defence cooperation between India and Singapore and highlighted the regular exchanges between the two armed forces over the years.

As 2025 marks 60 years of India-Singapore diplomatic relations, both the Ministers agreed to enhance defence cooperation and achieve new milestones, including extending the bilateral agreement on joint military training for another five years.

Recognizing the partnership between the two countries in the development and production of defence equipment, India and Singapore have agreed to enhance cooperation in this area, especially in specialized areas such as automation and artificial intelligence.

In addition, the two Ministers pledged to promote cooperation in emerging areas such as cyber security.

After the meeting, the Singaporean Defense Minister affirmed that India is a country with a strategic voice for peace and stability in the Asian region, and Singapore values the bilateral relationship which was upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Singapore.

The dialogue comes at a crucial time as India celebrates a decade of its Act East policy, in which Singapore has played a key role in promoting economic and cultural cooperation and enhancing strategic connectivity with its neighbours, which are also important partners for New Delhi in its Indo-Pacific vision.

India-Singapore relations are built on the foundation of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with defence being an important pillar. Cooperation has grown to include military exchanges, training, bilateral exercises, and UN peacekeeping operations.

Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen visited India from October 21-23, marking a significant step forward in defense cooperation between the two countries. The previous dialogue took place in January 2021 via video conference.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/an-do-singapore-doi-thoai-quoc-phong-khang-dinh-su-gan-ket-ben-chat-291098.html