SINGAPORE and Australia are taking their cooperation further with the signing of a landmark Green Economy Agreement (GEA) and collaboration in “new strategic areas” such as supply chain resilience, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (Oct 18) in Canberra.

He was speaking at a press conference alongside his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at the 7th Annual Leaders’ Meeting, held under the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

Besides the GEA, the countries “are also exploring new areas of cooperation because we are natural partners” with similar views on many issues, said PM Lee.

One such area is strengthening the security and resilience of supply chains – including for food and energy – as well as both countries’ connectivity to the rest of the world, he said.

Both countries will look into facilitating the bilateral flow of critical goods in times of crisis, with a working group already formed for this, he added.

Work will also begin on a “food pact to support enhanced supply chain resilience and greater flows in trade and investments of Australian and Singapore food supply”, the prime ministers said in a joint statement issued after the press conference.

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This was PM Lee’s first trip to Australia since the pandemic, with the 2020 Leaders’ Meeting held virtually and then-Australian prime minister Scott Morrison having visited Singapore for the 2021 edition.

PM Lee noted “significant progress” since the CSP began in 2015, adding that despite the pandemic, bilateral cooperation has remained strong.

The GEA will support both countries’ journeys to net zero while boosting growth and creating jobs in green sectors, he said.

Asked if Singapore would pursue GEAs with other countries in the region, PM Lee said the hope is that the GEA will encourage countries to consider whether to do similar things – with Singapore or other partners – and thus enhance cooperation on green issues.

On the GEA, Albanese said: “My government has continually emphasised that climate change has environmental consequences but it needs economic solutions.” And with climate change being “a global problem that requires a global solution”, trade and economic agreements such as the GEA are important as an example for the world, he added.

The issues that the GEA covers – such as decarbonisation, carbon neutrality and carbon trading – are “all areas which are important to us from a climate change point of view, and also from a business point of view”, PM Lee told Singapore media after the press conference.

Australia has a lot of renewable energy resources while Singapore needs to develop its own and import renewable energy, “so there’s a complementarity which is valuable to both of us”, he added.

“There are many tangible benefits,” he said of his trip. “But beyond that, it’s also an opportunity for us to exchange views on the region, the world; on the risks we see ahead, and how we can work together to foster a stabler and more secure environment.”

During the joint press conference, PM Lee noted that Australia is a key partner for the region and that Singapore welcomes PM Albanese’s efforts to deepen Australia’s engagement in South-east Asia.

“Given the tensions in the world, it is important that like-minded countries work together for our mutual benefit,” he said.

For his part, PM Albanese noted both countries’ commitment to “a free, open and resilient region”.

In their joint statement, the prime ministers “underlined the importance of an open, inclusive, rules-based and resilient Indo-Pacific region, which supports and promotes free trade and open markets and respects the rights of countries to lead their national existence free from external interference, subversion and coercion”.

One question posed to PM Lee was about both countries’ differing attitudes to China’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), with Singapore being keen but Australia being more sceptical.

To this, PM Lee reiterated Singapore’s position that it would “be good if China is able to join the CPTPP”, noting that it would have to meet the requirements fully.

“But of course, for China to join the CPTPP, there has to be a consensus amongst all the existing members,” he added. As chair of the CPTPP committee this year, Singapore has been canvassing members’ views on applicants to the trade pact; while there is no consensus yet, Singapore will continue this process, he said.

As for Australia’s position, “we understand each other’s point of view”, he added.

In a Facebook post before his flight back to Singapore that evening, PM Lee said he looked forward “to working with PM Albanese and his team to bring our bilateral relations to greater heights”.

Earlier that morning, PM Lee had laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier at the Australia War Memorial, which represents Australians killed in the war – including those “who died defending Singapore and Malaya during World War II”, he noted.

Thanking Singapore for the role it played in the pandemic with air and sea support for the supply of vaccines to Australia, Albanese said that the Republic “is a reliable economic partner” and that its presence in Australia – with military training, for instance – has been very welcome.

Noting that PM Lee had asked how Singapore’s helicopters and defence infrastructure in Australia could help during the current flood crisis, he added: “That’s what friends do. They see a friend going through a difficult time and they ask, how can we help?”

“And Australia and Singapore are great friends. That friendship has been added to today.”