Singapore's Minister of State for Defence attends key security forum in Bahrain

SINGAPORE - Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman is in Bahrain to attend the 9th Manama Dialogue, a key security forum for the Gulf region.

The dialogue is organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. It brings together national security establishments of participating states from the region and beyond to exchange views on regional security challenges. At the dialogue, Dr Maliki spoke at one of the Simultaneous Special Sessions on "The Dangers of Sectarianism and Extremism in Politics".

While in Bahrain, Dr Maliki also called on His Royal Highness Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Bahrain Defence Force, and His Excellency Lieutenant General Dr Mohammad Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, where they exchanged views on the security issues in the Middle East.

The calls reaffirmed the strong bilateral ties between Singapore and Bahrain, and also provided Dr Maliki with the opportunity to thank Bahrain for their support for the Singapore Armed Forces' deployment to the Gulf of Aden.

Singapore has been attending the Manama Dialogue since its inception in 2004. This year, countries represented at the Manama Dialogue include Gulf Cooperation Council Members (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Yemen, as well as extra-regional countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Italy, France, Germany, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.