Joint Statement from Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian of France and Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence of the Republic of Singapore

This joint statement follows the meeting of Ministers of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian with Dr Ng Eng Hen during his visit to France on September 2-3.

France and Singapore reaffirmed the excellent state of the bilateral defence relationship that has been further enhanced after the signing of the Strategic Partnership by the Prime Ministers of both countries in 2012. Dr Ng also thanked Mr Le Drian for France's strong support for the Singapore Armed Forces' advanced jet training in Cazaux, which began in 1998 and was recently extended until 2035. Both Ministers expressed the commitment of their Ministries and Armed Forces to increase collaboration to address common security challenges, especially in the areas of cyber defence, counter terrorism, defence technology and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. To deepen understanding between both Ministries in these areas, Dr Ng visited the cyber security centre COSSI, accompanied by Mr Francis Delon, General Secretary for Defence and National Security (SGDSN) and CALID, the IT defence analysis centre of the French Armed Forces.

Both Ministers have tasked their respective agencies to step up concrete measures to enhance cooperation and collaboration and will review progress of these efforts periodically.