India and Singapore have agreed to enhance industry cooperation, especially in niche domains such as automation and artificial intelligence during the sixth India-Singapore Defence Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi yesterday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Singapore’s Minister of Defence, Dr. Ng Eng Hen, co-chaired the meeting.
Both ministers expressed satisfaction over the growing defence cooperation between the two countries. Both sides agreed to boost defence cooperation in emerging areas like cybersecurity. They also agreed to extend the bilateral agreement on joint military training for the next five
years. During the meeting, the Defence Minister of Singapore acknowledged that India is a strategic voice for Asia’s peace and stability.
The bilateral relationship between the two countries was recently elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore. The meeting assumes significance against the backdrop of India marking a decade of its Act East policy, in which Singapore has played a key role in promoting economic cooperation and developing strategic connectivity with countries in the region.