SINGAPORE and Australia will explore “new strategic areas of cooperation” such as supply chain resilience, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (Oct 18) in Canberra, after both countries signed a landmark Green Economy Agreement (GEA).

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

This greater cooperation includes 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.

PM Lee said that both countries will look into facilitating the bilateral flow of critical goods in times of crisis, with a working group already formed for this.

Both countries will begin work on a bilateral 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.

This is 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.

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At this year’s meeting, both prime ministers have agreed to take their cooperation further, said PM Lee. He noted “significant progress” since the CSP began in 2015, adding that despite the pandemic, bilateral cooperation has remained strong.

The newly-signed 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 look at it and consider whether to do similar things – with Singapore or other countries – and thus enhance cooperation on green issues.

On the GEA, PM Albanese said: “My government has continually emphasised that climate change has environmental consequences but it needs economic solutions.” 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.

Singapore and Australia are “natural partners” with similar views on many issues, and “trusted and reliable partners” as demonstrated during Covid-19, said PM Lee, introducing the move towards new areas of cooperation.

The prime ministers also “exchanged views on regional and global developments”, said PM Lee, noting that Australia is a key partner for the region. “Given the tensions in the world, it is important that like-minded countries work together for our mutual benefit.”

In his remarks at the press conference, PM Albanese noted both countries’ commitment to “a free, open and resilient region”.

One question posed to PM Lee at the joint press conference 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 who wish to join the trade pact; and 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 said.

Thanking Singapore for the role it played in the pandemic with air and sea support for the supply of vaccines to Australia, PM Albanese added 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.”