Singapore will host the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) from 29 May to 31 May 2026. This year’s edition, organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), will see 44 countries in attendance, with 54 Ministerial-level delegates and more than 42 Chief of Defence Forces-level delegates and senior defence officials, as well as prominent academics. His Excellency Tô Lâm, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, will deliver the Keynote Address on 29 May 2026, while President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Dr José Ramos-Horta will deliver a Special Address on 30 May 2026. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will also host a reception at the Istana on 30 May 2026. Beyond the strong attendance from countries across the Asia Pacific and Europe, other notable attendees from this year’s SLD include Qatar Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs His Excellency Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al Thani, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Nurlan Yermekbayev, and United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Minister for Defence, Mr Chan Chun Sing will speak at a plenary session on 31 May 2026 on the topic “Evolving Security Partnerships in a Fragmenting World”. As a regular feature of the SLD, Mr Chan will host visiting Ministers to Roundtable discussions on 30 and 31 May 2026, and the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) Defence Ministers to breakfast. He will join his Philippines counterpart Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr. to co-host a breakfast meeting with ASEAN Defence Ministers. Mr Chan will also conduct bilateral meetings with Ministers and senior officials from various countries on the sidelines of the SLD.
The SLD was established in 2002, and is the premier defence and security conference in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the years, the SLD has provided a valuable platform for the exchange of perspectives on defence and security issues and initiatives. The SLD also facilitates opportunities for like-minded countries to come together and cooperate to address new challenges.
