Last month, during a visit to Jerusalem, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to expand cyberdefense cooperation. In an email interview, Emanuel Shahaf, CEO of Technology Asia Consulting, discussed Israel’s ties with Singapore.
WPR: What have Israel’s ties with Singapore been like historically, and how have they evolved?
Emanuel Shahaf: Singapore’s relationship with Israel started after the newly created Asian city-state requested Egypt’s assistance with setting up its military but was rebuffed. Israel responded positively, and the rest is history. During Singapore’s formative years, the relationship was primarily centered on military cooperation ranging from training to weapons and equipment sales. But it soon expanded into civilian areas like public health care and education, with know-how largely going from Israel to Singapore. Commercial relations, like Israel’s relations with Asia in general, were limited.