SINGAPORE: Senior officials from about two dozen of the world’s major intelligence agencies held a meeting in Singapore, Reuters reported.

A meeting held on the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting was organized by the Singapore government and have been discreetly held at a separate venue alongside the security summit for several years, it reported.

The United States was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the head of her country’s intelligence community, while China was among the other countries present, according to the report.

India’s Samanta Goel, the head of India’s Research and Analysis Wing, also attended, Reuters said attributing an Indian source.

“The meeting is an important fixture on the international shadow agenda,” said one person with knowledge of the discussions, according to the report.

The report said that the sources who discussed the meetings declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A spokesperson for the Singapore Ministry of Defence said that while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue, “participants including senior officials from intelligence agencies also take the opportunity to meet their counterparts,” the report added.

(Inputs from Reuters)