Dialogue Essential to Drive Progress: Mr Zaqy Mohamad at the Seoul Defense Dialogue 2025

Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad speaking at a plenary session on the topic of “Strengthening Future Security through AI and Emerging Technologies” at the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) 2025 in the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Mr Zaqy (right) meeting with ROK Vice Minister of National Defense Lee Doo-hee (left) at the sidelines of SDD.

Mr Zaqy (left) meeting with Sweden State Secretary to Minister for Civil Defence Johan Berggren (right) at the sidelines of SDD.

Mr Zaqy (left) meeting with Vietnam Deputy Minister of National Defence SLG Hoang Xuan Chien (right) at the sidelines of SDD.

Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad is on a working visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) to attend the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) from 8 to 10 September 2025.

At the SDD, Mr Zaqy spoke at a plenary session on “Strengthening Future Security through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emerging Technologies”. He highlighted that the faster pace of innovation has also changed the nature of threats, which are no longer defined by geography. Mr Zaqy encouraged countries to work together to shape global norms for emerging technologies, and establish effective guardrails to build a rules-based order for the digital age. He emphasised the importance of dialogue in promoting trust and cooperation.

He said, “Singapore remains committed in supporting dialogue and collaboration at multilateral and regional levels… Dialogue is also essential to drive progress. Without dialogue, there is no trust, no international cooperation, and no collective progress.”

On the sidelines of the SDD, Mr Zaqy met ROK Vice Minister of National Defense Lee Doo-hee, where they reaffirmed the warm and friendly bilateral defence relations between Singapore and the ROK. They discussed strengthening cooperation in areas such as military-to-military exchanges and defence technology, and exchanged views on regional securitydevelopments. Mr Zaqy also met with Sweden State Secretary to Minister for Civil Defence Mr Johan Berggren, Türkiye Deputy Defence Minister Mr Musa Heybet, Japan Minister of Defense Mr Nakatani Gen, and Vietnam Deputy Minister of National Defence SLG Hoang Xuan Chien.

Organised by the ROK Ministry of National Defense annually, the SDD is a Track 1.5 forum for government officials and experts to discuss security issues in the Asia-Pacific. The theme of this year’s SDD is “Confronting Geopolitical Challenges: Building Peace through Cooperation”.

More Resources

Speech by Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad at the Third Plenary: “Strengthening Future Security through Artificial Intelligence (AI)"