KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s determination to boost defence partnerships with regional and foreign countries was apparent with Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan’s presence at the Shangri-La Dialogue 2023 (SLD2023) in Singapore.
The Defence Ministry (Mindef) said in a statement that the matter was in line with the third pillar of the national defence strategy, which emphasises on authoritative partnerships as outlined in the Defence White Paper.
SLD2023, which was held from June 2 to 4, had a big impact on Malaysia as a pioneer in defence and security issues in South East Asia to exchange views and listen to other countries’ stand on the lateset security issues.
"It also strengthened defence ties with countries of interest,” the ministry said.
SLD2023 is an international forum involving defence ministers and senior government officials from countries in the Asia Pacific region and Europe.
During the forum, Mohamad also held bilateral and multilateral meetings with officials from strategic countries, including Singapore, Portugal, China and the Philippines.
He also attended a meeting with defence ministers from member countries of the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA). - BERNAMA