India, Singapore reaffirm bilateral ties in 5th Defence Ministers Dialogue

The fifth India-Singapore Defence Ministers Dialogue between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Singaporean counterpart Dr Ng Eng Hen on Wednesday reaffirmed their bilateral ties between the two nations in this sector.

During their virtual interaction, both the ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress of ongoing defence cooperation engagements between the two countries despite limitations imposed by ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, said an official statement.

During the virtual interaction, Rajnath Singh conveyed his compliments on the effectiveness of pandemic mitigation measures implemented in Singapore and the contribution of Singapore Armed Forces in restricting the spread of COVID-19.

Earlier, Singh tweeted, "Had a productive meeting with Singapore's Defence Minister, Dr Ng Eng Hen. India is fortunate to a have defence partner like Singapore."

He also highlighted the role of Indian Armed Forces in combating COVID-19 and various missions undertaken to assist in the repatriation of Indians stranded overseas.

"Today's interaction will benefit both countries on many bilateral issues that are being pursued to further strengthen our special relationship," tweeted Singh.

Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence, Singapore, reciprocated the compliments and exchanged views on the role of Armed Forces in the whole of government's approach towards control of the pandemic.

Both the ministers also expressed satisfaction at the growing defence ties between the two countries. Both reviewed the progress of various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives being pursued over the last year and expressed commitment to further elevate the scale of engagements between the Armed Forces as well as in areas of defence technology and industry, the statement added.

Both the ministers discussed new areas of potential cooperation and articulated their vision in this direction.

The ministers witnessed the signing of the Implementing Agreement on Submarine Rescue Support and Cooperation between the Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy.

Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar was also present during the meeting.

( With inputs from ANI )