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Shangri-La Dialogue to resume in Singapore next June after cancellations in 2020, 2021

Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where the annual Shangri-La Dialogue is being held.
Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where the annual Shangri-La Dialogue is being held. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Shangri-La Dialogue security summit will resume in Singapore next year from 10 to 12 June, following cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The summit, which had been an annual affair at the Shangri-La Hotel since 2002 until the pandemic, typically sees global defence ministers, senior officials, corporate leaders and strategists discuss Asia’s most pressing security challenges.

The event is convened by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). James Crabtree, executive director of IISS-Asia, said in a media release on Wednesday (13 October), "The IISS continues to believe in the role of face-to-face diplomacy to solve global problems.

"At a time of ever-rising interest in Asian security affairs, we look forward to welcoming delegates to Singapore for in-person diplomatic discussions next June."

The 2020 Shangri-La Dialogue was cancelled following the initial global outbreak of COVID-19, with IISS saying then that it decided not to convene the Dialogue with many countries having imposed travel restrictions in response to the pandemic.

The 2021 edition was initially scheduled to take place on 4 to 5 June, but was eventually cancelled in May due to "worsening global COVID-19 situation" brought by the rise of infectious new COVID variants.

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