SINGAPORE – Singapore and France will hold discussions on deepening the operational and technical aspects of existing security-related agreements, said Mr Jean-Didier Berger, Minister Delegate to the French Minister of the Interior on April 28.
These involve exchanging information in areas both countries have interests in, such as scams, radicalisation and regulating social media for young people.
On April 28, Mr Berger visited Milipol TechX Summit 2026 in Singapore, which is supported by Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs and France’s Ministry of the Interior. He spoke to Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs Minister.
Sharing his insights on their discussion with The Straits Times during a visit to French aerospace and defence giant Thales’ facility in Ayer Rajah Crescent, Mr Berger said it involved a potential deepening of existing partnerships that facilitate concrete exchanges around areas like security, radicalisation, counter-terrorism, drug trafficking and the use of drones.
Mr Berger said: “Singapore is better than us in very concrete subjects we are interested in, and we can bring some stuff, in terms of security, which will interest Singapore too.
“For example, we are very interested in scams, because you know that the threats are growing, and we were interested in the experience of Singapore.”
He highlighted that for the first time in France, cyber criminality had outstripped physical criminality in 2025, noting the importance for law enforcement to adapt to stay ahead of the criminals.
Among the recent cyberthreats in France is the rise of crypto kidnappings with a string of kidnappings and extortion attempts targeting the families of wealthy individuals dealing in cryptocurrencies.
Earlier in April, Mr Berger was reported as saying that France was preparing to introduce new measures to protect cryptocurrency holders.
In Singapore, scams had been a major crime issue in the last few years with the number of cases only coming down in 2025 after several years of increase.
Mr Berger said: “We’re in a world where threats are moving very fast – cybercrime, drug trafficking and the use of drones. Criminals use every technology they can and we have to adapt.”
His visit to Singapore follows from French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Singapore in May 2025 where the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This involved expanding cooperation in areas such as civilian nuclear energy, intelligence sharing and defence technology.
Mr Berger said there was a high level of confidence and trust between Singapore and France that makes it possible to share important and strategic information.
The relationship was also a pillar of stability in the Indo-Pacific region, he added.
He said: “Security is very important in this moment of instability in the world and without security, no stability.
“Without stability, no business. Without business, no prosperity for the population.”
When asked about the impact that global conflicts, like the Iran war, have on domestic security, Mr Berger said it is something experienced by countries like Singapore and France.
“We have to be strong against exterior threats, but these threats can be imported into the territory,” he said.
He highlighted how nations at odds can use other countries as proxies in their conflicts, and how these disputes abroad can have an impact on radicalisation of local citizens.
“You have younger and younger people who can be radicalised, radicalised in a few weeks, in a few months, and we have to detect them to protect the people, protect the population,” he said.
Mr Berger said it was important to be discreet when it comes to handling radicalisation in order to stay ahead of the issue, but that trusted countries could benefit by exchanging information with each other.
While noting that he could not speak too much about this in public, he added: “But we can share (with) very good friends such as Singapore some of the techniques we use.”