India's Chief of Naval Staff Makes Introductory Visit to Singapore

Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, Admiral (ADM) Rabinder Kumar Dhowan calling on Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Ministry of Defence.

Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, Admiral (ADM) Rabinder Kumar Dhowan called on Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning. ADM Dhowan, who is in Singapore on an introductory visit from 20 to 23 Jul 2015, also called on Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng and Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral (RADM) Lai Chung Han after inspecting a Guard of Honour at MINDEF earlier today.

As part of his programme, ADM Dhowan visited the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)'s Information Fusion Centre and the Changi Naval Base, where ADM Dhowan and RADM Lai signed a Technical Agreement (TA) on Sharing White-Shipping Information, which will enhance maritime-information sharing between the two navies. In addition, ADM Dhowan will visit the SAFTI Military Institute during his time in Singapore.

The RSN and the Indian Navy conduct the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) together annually and this year's SIMBEX, held in May, was the 22nd in the series. Both navies also interact regularly through high-level visits, dialogues, joint military training, courses and other professional exchanges.

ADM Dhowan's introductory visit underscores the warm and longstanding defence relations between Singapore and India, which have strengthened over the years since the signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement in 2003. Following Dr Ng's official visit to India in August 2014, both defence establishments agreed to strengthen defence relations under the ambit of an enhanced defence partnership this year. This would allow both sides to explore new areas of cooperation for mutual benefit.

ADM Dhowan inspecting the Guard of Honour at MINDEF.