President Tharman Shanmugaratnam was in Brunei for three days from Jan. 24 to 26, 2024, on his first overseas state visit since taking office.

One of his stops in Brunei was in the Temburong district, where he visited Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officer cadets undergoing jungle survival training.

Chief of Army, Major-General David Neo, received President Tharman.

President Tharman interacted with the soldiers, and learnt more about the jungle survival training they were undergoing, in preparation for their Jungle Confidence Course (JCC) — a nine-day mission where officer cadets navigate Brunei's jungles with limited supplies of food and water.

Officer cadets showed parts of their training to President Tharman, including how they were taught to start a fire.

President Tharman also addressed the soldiers, saying that training in a terrain different from Singapore’s is invaluable.

He spoke of how the training would grow them into capable and resilient leaders, and pointed out that this was made possible by the strong bilateral relationship between Singapore and Brunei.

"Brunei may be a small country, but our relationship with them has always been special and mutually valuable, in defence training and other areas," said President Tharman in a Jan. 26 Facebook post about his trip.

"The warmth of the relationship was clear throughout my visit to Brunei over the last three days," President Tharman added, saying that he and his wife had "memorable informal conversations with His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Her Majesty the Raja Isteri over tea, dinner and a morning walk and breakfast."

President Tharman visited Brunei at the invitation of Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. The visit coincides with the 40th anniversary of Singapore establishing diplomatic relations with Brunei.

Top photos by The Singapore Army and MINDEF on Facebook