Singapore forms crisis committee amid energy supply disruptions

Moscow (ANTARA) - Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has announced the formation of a crisis committee to update emergency response plans amid energy supply disruptions resulting from the conflict in the Middle East. “To coordinate the national response, I have formed the Domestic Crisis Ministerial Committee. The team has begun working to update existing contingency plans and develop new ones given the unprecedented situation,” Wong said on Thursday (2/4). Wong stated that the committee is chaired by Minister for National Security Coordination K Shanmugam, with Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong acting as an advisor. He added that if key energy sources and supply routes in the Middle East remain restricted in the long term, the consequences will be severe. On 28 February, the United States and Israel launched attacks on several targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and killing civilians. Iran retaliated by attacking Israeli territory as well as US military facilities in the Middle East. The escalation of the conflict in the region has led to a de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main shipping route for oil and liquefied natural gas from Gulf countries to global markets. The situation has also affected oil exports and production in Gulf countries and driven up global energy prices.