Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan is in Amman, Jordan for a working visit from Mar. 16 to 17, where he met with Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Safadi.

Safadi and Vivian met on Mar. 16 (Singapore time), where Vivian expressed appreciation for Jordan's facilitation of the delivery of Singapore's humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Third tranche of humanitarian aid

Both ministers said that the strong bilateral relationship between Singapore and Jordan allowed both sides to work closely together to organise the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) ongoing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Vivian is visiting Amman to hand over Singapore's third tranche of humanitarian assistance for Gaza, and is cooperating with the government of Jordan to do so.

Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower, Zaqy Mohamad, is accompanying him.

The RSAF will be deploying an A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and a C-130 transport aircraft for the humanitarian aid mission, with the C-130 aircraft staying on and conducting humanitarian airdrop operations at the invitation of the Jordanian government.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 16, Vivian expressed appreciation for Jordan’s facilitation of Singapore’s humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Both ministers agreed on the "pressing need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" and called for more channels to be explored in order to deliver aid to Gaza.

He and Safadi also welcomed the "successful outcomes" of the visit of Crown Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II to Singapore in January 2024.

"They looked forward to stronger and deeper cooperation including in the fields of capacity building, technical and vocational education and training, and strengthening business-to-business links," MFA stated.

Previous aid

Vivian is handing over the third tranche of humanitarian aid to be provided to Gaza.

On Nov. 10, 2023, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohamad Maliki Osman witnessed the handover of S$2 million in public donations and other humanitarian aid while on a working visit to Egypt. 

On Nov. 30 2023, an RSAF Multi-Role Tanker Transport delivered the second tranche of humanitarian assistance to Egypt, including more than S$7 million in cash and in-kind donations from Singaporeans.

In January 2024, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) deployed a two-personnel medical team to El Arish in Egypt to provide medical care for Gaza casualties.

RLAF announced on Mar. 9 that local individuals and groups had contributed over S$8.1 million in its fundraising efforts that lasted from Oct. 19, 2023 to Nov. 17, 2023.

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Top image via MFA