Laanet: Estonia, Singapore strengthening defense cooperation

  • 2022-05-13
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN – Estonian Minister of Defense Kalle Laanet on Friday met with Minister for Defense of Singapore Ng Eng Hen to discuss bilateral cooperation and the current security situation on NATO’s eastern flank.

“Singapore and Estonia are both small countries that know what it is like to live next to a large neighbor. We both strongly believe in e-solutions, broad-based national defense, reserve-based defense forces and open economy. As small states, we are also both outspoken advocates for a world view that is based on rule of law," Laanet said.

"It is very positive to see that the defense cooperation is increasing between Estonia and Singapore and signing two bilateral memorandums, both for defense cooperation and cooperation on cyber defense, is an excellent proof of that," the minister added.

"We see a lot of potential to cooperate in developing some of the most advanced technologies in the defense industry," Laanet said.

The ministries of defense of Singapore and Estonia signed a memorandum to strengthen defense cooperation in areas such as defense policy, personnel training, conscript service, cyber security, broad-based national defense and citizen engagement. The ministries also signed a second memorandum of understanding on strengthening cyber cooperation.

The four-day visit of the delegation from Singapore included bilateral meetings at the Ministry of Defense and visits to the Tallinn-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE), the cyber range CR-14, and the Singaporean minister's participation as a panelist in the Lennart Meri Conference panel "Visions of China".