Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Mr K Shanmugam’s Official Visit to Paris, France

1.     Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law Mr K Shanmugam attended the Ministerial Conference on the Fight against Terrorist Financing: The Other War against Daesh and Al-Qaeda, held from 25 to 26 April 2018 in Paris, France. He was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two-day Ministerial Conference consisted of an Experts session held on Wednesday, 25 April 2018 and a Ministerial Roundtable Section held on Thursday, 26 April 2018.

2.     On 26 April, during the Ministerial Roundtable, Minister Shanmugam spoke on the security threats and challenges that Singapore faces. He highlighted the threat posed by home-grown radicalised individuals, and Singapore’s multi-pronged and multi-stakeholder approach in dealing with radicalisation and violent extremism. He also emphasised the importance of combating money laundering and terrorism financing as critical pillars in the global fight against terrorism.

3.     During his visit, Minister Shanmugam met with the French Minister of State and Minister of Interior, Mr Gérard Collomb, and held meetings with French counter-terrorism agencies. To further enhance the bilateral cooperation between MHA and the French Ministry of Interior (MOI), Minister Shanmugam and Minister Collomb signed an Administrative Arrangement on cooperation in science and technology in the field of homeland security on 26 April 2018. This Administrative Arrangement, signed during the Singapore – France Innovation Year 2018, builds upon the existing areas of cooperation - border management, civil protection, counter terrorism, cybercrime, major events management, and thought leadership on homeland security - between the two Ministries set out in the three-year Strategic Cooperation Plan which MHA signed with the French MOI on 6 April 2016.