About two dozen senior officials from the world’s leading intelligence agencies held a secret meeting during the Shangri-La security meeting in Singapore later this week. Such meetings are organized by the Singapore government and have been held at a different location with the security summit for the past several years, five people told Reuters. Information about these meetings was not given earlier.
RAW chief Samant Goyal also participated
The US was represented by the head of its country’s intelligence community, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, while China was among the other countries present despite tensions between the two superpowers. An Indian source said that Samant Goyal, head of India’s foreign intelligence gathering agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), also participated. A person with knowledge of the meeting said – The meeting is an important fixture on the international shadow agenda. Given the range of countries involved, this is not a festival of tradecraft, but a way to foster a deeper understanding of intentions and bottom lines. There is an unspoken code among the Intelligence Service that they can talk when more formal and open diplomacy is difficult – this is a very important factor in times of tension and the Singapore incident helps to foster this.
Participants found such meetings beneficial
All five sources who discussed the meetings declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. A spokesperson for the Singapore Defense Ministry said that while taking part in the Shangri-La talks, the participants, including senior officials from intelligence agencies, also get an opportunity to meet their counterparts. The spokesperson further said that the Singapore Defense Ministry may facilitate some of these bilateral or multilateral meetings. Participants have found such meetings (dialogues) beneficial.
US Embassy has no information about the meeting
The US Embassy in Singapore said it had no information about the meeting. The Chinese and Indian governments also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Whereas, the United States of America, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operate the Five Eyes network to collect and share a wide range of intelligence, and their intelligence officers meet frequently.
Some details available on special discussions in Singapore
Few details were available on the specific discussions in Singapore, Russia’s war in Ukraine and international crime included in the talks on Friday, a person with knowledge of the discussions said, adding that intelligence chiefs held an informal meeting on Thursday evening. One of the sources said that no Russian representative was present. Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Volodymyr V. Havrylov, was at the Shangri-La talks but said he did not attend the intelligence meeting.
