Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, who is on a three-day official visit to Brunei, had an audience with the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah. His Majesty and Dr Ng reiterated the importance of the special relationship between Brunei and Singapore. His Majesty and Dr Ng also welcomed the successful completion of this year's edition of Exercise Pelican, which marked the 40th anniversary of this series since 1979.

Dr Ng also had an audience with the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office of Brunei Darussalam, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah. The Crown Prince and Senior Minister discussed regional security issues and reaffirmed the close and long-standing defence ties between both countries.

As part of his programme, Dr Ng also had a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, Brunei Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major-General (MG) (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Md Yussof yesterday. This was followed by a visit by both Ministers to Exercise Pelican, a bilateral exercise between the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Royal Brunei Navy. Dr Ng also met Minister at the Prime Minister's Office Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud.

Dr Ng's visit underscored the close and long-standing bilateral and defence relations between Singapore and Brunei. The SAF and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces interact regularly through bilateral exercises across the three Services, cross attendance of courses, professional exchanges and visits. Such interactions have fostered mutual understanding and enhanced interoperability between the two armed forces, as well as forged strong rapport and camaraderie among their personnel.