New Delhi host 6th India Singapore Defence Ministerial Dialogue 2024

India and Singapore have agreed to strengthen their long-standing defence relationships and explore new areas of cooperation. This was agreed upon during the meeting between the Indian Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, and the visiting Singaporean Defence Minister, Dr Ng Eng Hen.

Dr Ng Eng Hen was on an official visit to India from 21 to 23 October 2024. After his meeting with Rajnath Singh, the Singapore defence minister also called upon President Droupadi Murmuat the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

India and Singapore have close ties, and their relationship was elevated to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership level during Prime Minister Narendra's visit to Singapore from 3-5 September 2024.

6th India-Singapore Defence Ministerial Dialogue 

The Singapore foreign minister was in India to attend the 6th India-Singapore Defence Ministerial Dialogue held on 22 October in New Delhi.

The India-Singapore Defence Ministers’ Dialogue was established in 2016. It is an official platform between the two countries to strengthen their bilateral defence cooperation. 

The 5th India-Singapore Defence Ministerial Dialogue meeting was held virtually in January 2021. 

The 6th India-Singapore Defence Ministerial Dialogue was co-chaired by the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Singapore Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen.

During the meeting, both leaders agreed to 

• extend the Joint Military Training Army agreement for the next five years.
• Enhance defence-related industry cooperation and explore new areas of collaboration in niche domains such as automation and Artificial Intelligence.
• Increase cooperation in the newly emerging areas like cybersecurity.

India and Singapore held their first Cyber Policy Dialogue on 17 October 2024 in Singapore to strengthen Digital and Cyber Resilience between the two countries.

During the meeting, Rajnath Singh appreciated Singapore's role as India's country coordinator in the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting—Plus from 2021 to 2024.

The Singapore Defence Minister also acknowledged India as a strategic voice for Asia’s peace and stability. 

For details of Prime Minister Modi visit to Singapore, read:

Four MoUs signed during PM Narendra Modi’s 5th visit to Singapore