Swedish Navy Chief of Staff Makes Introductory Visit to Singapore

The Chief of Staff of the Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN) Rear-Admiral (RADM) Jens Nykvist called on Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this afternoon. RADM Nykvist, who is in Singapore from 7 to 10 October 2016 for an introductory visit, also inspected a Guard of Honour at MINDEF and called on Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Perry Lim and Chief of Navy RADM Lai Chung Han. Both sides reaffirmed the strong defence partnership and long-standing friendship between Singapore and Sweden, and expressed their commitment to continue building closer ties.

RADM Nykvist, as well as Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) senior officers and Defence Science and Technology Agency personnel, will attend a reception this evening hosted by the Swedish Ambassador to Singapore to commemorate 20 years of submarine cooperation between the RSN and RSwN. RADM Nykvist will also visit Changi Naval Base on 10 October.

The RSN and the RSwN share a strong defence partnership since the 1990s, following Singapore's acquisition and operation of Swedish-designed mine-countermeasure vessels and Archer-class and Challenger-class submarines. These collaborations include the sharing of expertise through mine-countermeasure exchange programmes and submarine training and operations, which have increased the RSN's operational readiness to secure the seaward defence of Singapore. Working with the RSwN has also deepened Singapore's Defence Technology Community's knowledge in defence system management, particularly in areas such as life cycle management and obsolescence management.

Apart from knowledge sharing, the RSN and RSwN also engage regularly on a wide range of professional exchanges, visits, exercises and cross-attendance of courses. These interactions have enhanced the professionalism of the RSN, and deepened the cooperation and rapport between the officers and men of both navies.