Malaysia’s Defence Minister Attends 22nd Shangri-la Dialogue In Singapore

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz

SINGAPORE, May 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s Minister of Defence, Mohamed Khaled Nordin, arrived in Singapore on Friday to attend the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), as part of a three-day working visit.

In a statement via Instagram, the minister stated he is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with defence counterparts from several countries, including the United States, Sweden, France, Japan, Australia, and Ukraine.

He is also expected to meet with Singapore’s newly appointed Minister for Defence, Chan Chun Sing.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister  Anwar Ibrahim is slated to give a special address on Saturday.  Mohamed Khaled will accompany the Prime Minister for an official meeting with the President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, at the Istana.

The Malaysian delegation includes Deputy Secretary-General (Policy) of the Ministry of Defence, Mohd Yani Daud; Chief Executive of the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (MiDAS), Lieutenant General  Muhammad Huzaimi Sabri; and Assistant Chief of Staff for Defence Training Operations, Malaysian Armed Forces, Major General Zahari Mohd Ariffin.

SLD, hosted annually in Singapore, is regarded as the premier security and defence summit in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year’s conference is expected to be attended by representatives from 47 countries, including 40 ministers, 20 chiefs of defence forces, more than 20 senior defence officers, as well as leading academics in the field.

-- BERNAMA