NEW DELHI - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak on Saturday declared that their countries’ relations would be upgraded to a strategic partnership that will strengthen existing ties and launch new areas of bilateral cooperation.
As part of these enhanced ties, both countries are committed to deepening their economic relationship.
“We will strengthen collaboration in traditional areas of trade, investment and finance, explore new frontiers in digital trade and the digital economy, and take steps together to ensure our economies are more resilient,” PM Lee and Mr Sunak said in a joint statement issued on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in New Delhi.
Singapore’s trade with the United Kingdom totals £21 billion (S$35.7 billion) annually, which represents 40 per cent of Britain’s total trade with South-east Asia.
Meanwhile, Singaporean entities have invested a total of £226 billion in the UK, making Singapore the third-largest Asian investor in the UK behind China and Japan.
“This new agreement with Singapore will take us even further in delivering our priorities and ensure that, as we map the future of the world economy, we are doing so alongside our closest partners,” Mr Sunak said.
It also paves the way for the two countries to conclude negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty that protects and promotes investment between them.
The strategic partnership will also allow both countries to maximise benefits from existing trade deals, namely the UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, as well as Britain’s recent accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
This latest upgrade in Singapore-Britain relations builds on their Partnership for the Future. Launched in 2019, it set out their shared ambitions in areas such as defence and security, research and innovation.
PM Lee and Mr Sunak said closer cooperation in defence and security is aimed at maintaining a free, open, inclusive, stable and peaceful global rules-based order, and in particular, to safeguard regional security.
This includes “supporting Asean partners to respond to challenges in the maritime domain, working together to tackle new and emerging threats, including to our ports, shipping industries and regional shipping routes, and to uphold the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international maritime law,” they said.
Neither country specifically referred to China, but its recent release of a 10-dash line national map claiming sovereignty over disputed areas in the South China Sea, as well as part of the north-east of India, has triggered objections from the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and India.
Singapore and Britain will also collaborate to counter cyber threats through a first-of-its-kind partnership between Singapore’s new Digital and Intelligence Service and the UK.
The two countries’ shared expertise and interests in areas such as technology and clean energy will underscore stronger cooperation in science and technology innovation, and research and development.
This includes working together to leverage investments in research and innovation that will drive economic growth and benefit society, as well as influence international standards, frameworks and guidelines for critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Joint climate change efforts, said the two leaders, will include accelerating economic growth in green sectors, enhancing energy security through the UK-Singapore Green Economy Framework, and developing low carbon energy technologies, green transport, carbon markets and sustainable finance.
British High Commissioner to Singapore Kara Owen said: “I am confident that the UK and Singapore will continue to deepen our cooperation, strengthen our economies and shape the future.”
Also on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, PM Lee met World Trade Organisation (WTO) director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. He reiterated Singapore’s support for the open and rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied by the WTO and discussed with Dr Ngozi how Singapore can further contribute to the organisation’s work.
Mr Lee also met United Arab Emirates President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They welcomed the excellent ties between the two countries and agreed to explore greater cooperation in areas like green energy.
