“Singapore plays key role in Act-East policy”: Rajnath Singh at India-Singapore Defence Ministers’ Dialogue

New Delhi: Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s Minister of Defence, has begun his three-day visit to India. As part of his visit, Dr. Hen co-chaired the sixth India-Singapore Defence Ministers’ Dialogue in New Delhi, with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh.

The Summit began on Tuesday morning, with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh welcoming the Singapore delegation warmly. He noted that the strategic partnership the two countries share is a “testimony of increasing closeness between our countries.”

Singh said, ” The meeting is happening at a time when India marks the decade of India’s Act in Policy, in which Singapore has played a key role in promoting economic cooperation, cultural ties, and developed strategic connectivity with country institutions.”

Building upon Singh’s remarks, Dr. Ng Eng Hen said, “You reminded us that this is the 10th year since your Act East Policy. From Singapore’s perspective, India has always been part of the East. Whether you choose to act or look, we consider you part of the area.”

He said that while remembering the history of Singapore, India has been an important partner. ” When we started the Singapore armed forces, one of the countries that we asked early on to see whether they could help us was India.” Hen highlighted that such historical memoirs serve as important reminders and “reflects how we feel that India is very part of our area. We are delighted that our ten years of bilateral relations have been very much improved in defence and all-round strategic partnership.”

Hen also thanked PM Modi for visiting Singapore earlier this year and noted that the visit was an excellent meeting.

A day before, the Ministry of Defence had announced the sixth India-Singapore Defence Ministers’ Dialogue in New Delhi on October 22, 2024.

The release noted that between India and Singapore, “The engagements have diversified to include wide-ranging contacts between the Services, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programs, cooperation in UN Peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercises.”

Inaugurated in 2016, the India-Singapore Defence Ministers’ Dialogue is a key platform to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation between Singapore and India. The fifth edition of the Defence Ministers’ Dialogue took place in January 2021 through virtual teleconference.

During the meeting, the two parties showed confidence in the outcomes of the meeting, which would provide impetus to the entire spectrum of bilateral engagement as well as to the regional security architecture.