New Zealand Secretary of Defence Makes Introductory Visit to Singapore

New Zealand Secretary of Defence Andrew Bridgman calling on Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).

New Zealand Secretary of Defence Andrew Bridgman called on Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning. During their meeting, Dr Ng and Mr Bridgman reaffirmed the close and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between Singapore and New Zealand.

Mr Bridgman, who is on his introductory visit to Singapore from 13 to 14 Jun 2022^[1], also co-chaired the inaugural Singapore-New Zealand Strategic Dialogue (Defence) [SNZSD(D)] with Permanent Secretary (Defence) Mr Chan Heng Kee earlier this morning. During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to bilateral defence cooperation, and to cooperate closely under the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus and the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA). They exchanged views on regional and international security issues of mutual interest, including non-traditional security challenges, and discussed the resumption of the SAF's training in New Zealand after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Mr Bridgman's visit underscores the strong defence relations between Singapore and New Zealand. Both defence establishments have extensive interactions through bilateral dialogues at various levels, the cross attendance of courses, and through multilateral platforms such as the ADMM-Plus and the FPDA. These interactions have deepened mutual understanding and strengthened people-to-people ties.

^[1] Mr Bridgman attended the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) from 10 to 12 Jun 2022.

Permanent Secretary (Defence) Mr Chan Heng Kee co-chairing the inaugural Singapore-New Zealand Strategic Dialogue (Defence) SNZSD(D) with Mr Bridgman at MINDEF earlier this morning.