Shangri-La Dialogue to be held in Singapore in June 2022 after two cancellations

SINGAPORE: The Shangri-La Dialogue will return to Singapore in June 2022 after being cancelled for two consecutive years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The high-level security summit is scheduled to be held from Jun 10 to 12, said the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

“At a time of ever-greater focus on the geopolitical and defence dynamics of the Asia-Pacific, the importance of in-person debate among the region’s key actors is greater than ever,” the organiser said on its website on Wednesday (Oct 13).

“Although we are all still living with the effects of a global pandemic, the IISS is confident that, after a two-year hiatus, the Shangri-La Dialogue will once again be a fully in-person event.”

Before the pandemic, the event was held annually since 2002, bringing together government ministers, senior officials, business leaders and security experts to discuss Asia’s developing security challenges.

This year’s dialogue was scheduled to take place on Jun 4 and 5, but it was cancelled two weeks before the meeting. 

At the time, Singapore had introduced new COVID-19 restrictions, limiting group sizes to two amid a rise in COVID-19 community cases. Dining in was also suspended.