Sweden seeks deeper defence ties with Singapore, as King wraps up visit

Cooperation in maritime security one of Stockholm's key priorities

- Tay Hong Yi

Deepening defence ties, especially in terms of maritime security, emerged as one of Sweden's key priorities during a three-day state visit by the Scandinavian nation's King Carl XVI Gustaf that ended on Nov 21.

Existing defence agreements were expanded, while the King - a former naval officer - engaged in several activities that had a distinctly littoral element.

For instance, he rode on the Singapore Civil Defence Force's Red Manta rescue vessel on Nov 21 and toured the Singapore Navy Museum a day before.

In various engagements, top Swedish officials who accompanied the King on his visit, including Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, stressed the importance of various aspects in the bilateral defence relationship.

Earlier on Nov 15, both countries' defence ministries also inked an agreement to expand a 1998 memorandum of understanding (MOU).

This will see increased collaborations between start-ups, small-and medium-sized enterprises, and universities of both countries, to tap dual-use critical and emerging technologies of mutual interest.

Dual-use technologies are those with both civilian and military applications.

This agreement was one of five signed between both governments during the trip, with the exchange of MOUs witnessed by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and the King on Nov 21.

The other agreements pertained to aviation, energy, healthcare innovation and transport.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said these MOUs underscore the wide-ranging cooperation between Singapore and Sweden, and laid the groundwork for deeper collaboration in areas of mutual interest.