Australia Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Reinforces Strong Ties During Call with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong

Australia Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Mr Richard Marles (left) called on Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong (right) at the Istana today, on the sidelines of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue. Credit: MDDI

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles is in Singapore to attend the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD). He called on Prime Minister (PM) and Minister for Finance, Lawrence Wong at the Istana today. 

During their meeting, PM Wong and Deputy Prime Minister Marles reaffirmed the longstanding and multifaceted relations between Singapore and Australia, as well as the close people-to-people relations between both countries. They exchanged views on regional security developments and looked forward to deepening bilateral defence cooperation in key areas, such as critical underwater infrastructure, and enhancing both militaries’ reciprocal access to defence facilities in Australia and Singapore following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Enhanced Defence Cooperation last year. 

This builds on the significant milestone achieved last year when PM Wong and Prime Minister Albanese announced the upgrade of the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at the 10th Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting.