Senior Minister of State for Defence Visits Bilateral Artillery Exercise and Reaffirms Warm and Long-Standing Defence Ties with India

Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman is in India from 27 to 30 November 2016 to observe the bilateral artillery exercise, Exercise Agni Warrior, between the Singapore and Indian Armies. This year's exercise, the 10th in the series, is conducted from 13 November to 3 December 2016 in Devlali, India and involves about 240 personnel from both armies.

During his visit, Dr Maliki observed the joint live firing exercise between the Singapore Army and the Indian Army, involving the Singapore Light Weight Howitzer and the Field Artillery Meteorological System. The exercise provides valuable opportunities for both sides to understand each other's doctrines and tactics. This will enhance mutual understanding and interoperability between the two armies. During the visit, Dr Maliki also interacted with Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops from the 23rd and 24th Battalions, Singapore Artillery. Dr Maliki also expressed appreciation to the Commanders of the Indian Army for the opportunity for the SAF to train and exercise with the Indian Armed Forces.

Held in India since 2004, Exercise Agni Warrior is conducted under the ambit of the Army Bilateral Agreement, and is a testament to the warm and long-standing defence relationship between Singapore and India. The SAF and the Indian Armed Forces share a long history of military cooperation, with regular interactions through exercises, military exchanges, staff talks and the cross-attendance of courses. With the signing of the revised Defence Cooperation Agreement in November 2015, both countries also committed to exploring further defence cooperation in areas of common interest, such as counter-terrorism and maritime security.

As part of the visit, Dr Maliki also visited Madrasa Afzal Ul Uloom in Agra on and Madrasa Hussain Bakhsh in New Delhi on 28 and 29 November respectively. Dr Maliki exchanged views with the respective Madrasa Presidents on fostering inter-religious understanding and promoting religious harmony. They also discussed the importance of community engagement by religious and civic organisations to strengthen social resilience against radical religious ideology, and agreed that it was critical that communities across the globe stand together and make a concerted effort to counter the narratives of religious radicalisation.