Singapore, Germany to upgrade ties to strategic partnership

(Photo credit: MDDI)

Source: Channel News Asia

Singapore and Germany have agreed to elevate their bilateral ties to a "strategic partnership", said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Tuesday (Nov 19).

This will "help encourage greater peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific" region, the two countries said in a joint declaration provided by MFA.

The move came as Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz met at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Both leaders reaffirmed ties between the two countries and their commitment to continue working as "like-minded partners", MFA said in a statement.

"Germany and Singapore are long-standing partners who enjoy a substantive and multifaceted relationship. We also share a strong commitment to multilateralism and a rules-based international order," the joint declaration said.

"This strategic convergence underpins our common desire to promote free trade and maintain an open and inclusive international architecture."

The two countries added that their relations "encompass strong political ties, flourishing trade and investment, significant cooperation in defence, security, and research and innovation, and warm people-to-people ties".

"Reflecting the innovative and forward-looking nature of our partnership, we are expanding our cooperation into newer areas like clean energy, climate action, connectivity, cybersecurity and digitalisation," the joint declaration said.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

The strategic partnership will build on the "Partners for a Resilient and Sustainable Future" joint declaration Singapore and Germany made in 2022, and comes ahead of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year.

The joint declaration said that it will be guided by a joint work plan with initiatives across five pillars: Defence and security; trade and the digital economy; climate and clean technology; science and innovation; and digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.

Under the defence and security pillar, both countries agreed to continue and increase high-level engagements and visits, and deepen military-to-military cooperation in areas such as digitalisation and cybersecurity. 

On the trade and digital economy front, they agreed to deepen economic collaboration at the government-to-government, government-to-business, and business-to-business levels through the Germany-Singapore Framework for Sustainability and Innovation signed on Nov 13, 2022.

The joint declaration said that there will also be continued support for the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, "which serves as a pathfinder for a possible future inter-regional FTA" between the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In the climate and green technology pillar, both countries will strengthen their cooperation on green maritime decarbonisation initiatives.

This includes port-to-port cooperation, where information will be shared on zero- and near-zero emissions fuels, and safety protocols for the handling and bunkering of such fuels.

Singapore and Germany will also create areas of cooperation on carbon pricing, including carbon tax, carbon credit agreements and decarbonisation technology.

The science and innovation pillar will see the implementation of joint research grants and projects in areas such as quantum technology, green chemistry and medical technology.

Both countries will deepen support for cooperation in education through partnerships and exchanges between schools, universities and vocational training under the fifth and final pillar, which they also described as "multi-level cooperation for the future".

Cultural ties will also be strengthened further through support for institutes such as the Goethe-Institut Singapore as hubs of communication.

Singapore and Germany will also work together to strengthen region-to-region cooperation between the EU and ASEAN in pursuit of mutual interests in areas such as digital trade, green technologies, green services and supply chain resilience.

"The respective foreign ministries will regularly review progress and refine the joint work plan accordingly, to ensure that we effectively identify and pursue opportunities for cooperation," the joint declaration said.

"Through this framework, we will harness our mutual strengths and work with key partners across all sectors to elevate our relationship."