The United States (US) Government has accepted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s offer of assistance in the evacuation of Afghanistan evacuees, Mindef said in a press release.
During the recent visit by the US Vice President Kamala Harris to Singapore, PM Lee had made the offer to her. The Vice President had thanked PM Lee for the generous offer to assist the US in its evacuations in Afghanistan.
The A330 MRTT will be deployed to transport evacuees currently relocated in Qatar to Germany or other receiving countries.
Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen was at Changi Air Base (East) to meet and send off Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel deployed for this mission, together with senior SAF officers including Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong and Chief of Air Force Major-General Kelvin Khong.
A total of 77 SAF personnel, comprising pilots, aircrew, engineers and Singapore Army security personnel, will be involved in this humanitarian mission.
On Singapore’s participation in the evacuation efforts, Dr Ng said, “The urgent need is to protect evacuees and other civilians, and Singapore is making a direct contribution to this humanitarian cause. We cannot imagine the fear and terror that these displaced people are facing, arising from the situation in Afghanistan. But we take some comfort that the SAF, through this mission, can play a part in providing for a more secure and safe future for some displaced families and individuals”.
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