Second Minister for Defence Mr Ong Ye Kung met French Minister for the Armed Forces Sylvie Goulard on the sidelines of the 52nd International Paris Air Show last evening (SG time). During the meeting, Mr Ong and Ms Goulard reaffirmed both countries' commitment to strengthening defence cooperation and discussed security developments of mutual interest.

At the invitation of the French Ministry of Defence, Mr Ong attended the opening ceremony of the 52nd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, Paris yesterday afternoon (SG time). During the air show, Mr Ong met President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron and conveyed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's congratulations on En Marche's victory. Mr Ong also graced the contract signing between Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Aerospace, and DHL Express for the conversion of four Airbus A330-300 passenger aircraft to 26-pallet cargo configuration freighters, with the option for 10 more of such conversions.

As part of his visit to France, Mr Ong will be meeting the Mayor of Bordeaux and former Prime Minister of France Alain Juppé on 20 June 2017. He will also be visiting the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)'s Advanced Jet Training detachment at Cazaux Air Base on 21 June 2017.

Mr Ong's visit underscores the strong and broad-based defence relationship between Singapore and France, which is underpinned by the RSAF's Advanced Jet Training in France. Both armed forces and defence establishments conduct frequent professional exchanges, regular high-level interactions joint military exercises, cross-attendance of courses, and dialogues. These wide-ranging interactions have strengthened the friendship and mutual understanding between both countries.