Singapore, Germany to work towards upgrading relations to a Strategic Partnership

[BERLIN] Singapore and Germany have agreed to work towards upgrading relations to a Strategic Partnership in recognition of the “growing depth and breadth” of bilateral ties.

This was announced by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement on Tuesday (Apr 9) evening, after Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

The two leaders took stock of their “longstanding and multifaceted” ties, which MFA said have strengthened over the decades. They also reaffirmed their commitment to intensify cooperation in existing and emerging areas.

Wong is currently on a six-day visit to Germany and France. This is his first official visit to Europe since becoming DPM in 2022.

On Monday, Wong called on German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and discussed how Singapore and Germany can tackle global complexities.

“We had a good exchange of views on how Singapore and Germany can navigate an increasingly complex world, as like-minded countries seeking to strengthen multilateralism and a rules-based world order,” Wong said in posts on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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Both leaders previously met in Singapore in 2022, when Steinmeier was in the country on a two-day official working visit. They had then discussed global challenges such as rising energy and food prices.

Deeper economic ties

Separately, on Monday, Wong had dinner with several German industry leaders.

“There is growing interest among German companies to expand into Asean, and to use Singapore as a gateway to the region,” he said, adding that he welcomes the growing German presence and looks forward to working as partners.

There are over 2,300 German companies in Singapore, including Bosch, Deutsche Post DHL and Infineon Technologies. German investments in Singapore stood at S$26.2 billion as at end-2022.

Germany is Singapore’s largest goods trading partner in the European Union (EU), with total bilateral trade in goods and services of over S$37 billion in 2023.

The country is also Singapore’s third-largest investment destination in the EU. Singapore has S$6.6 billion in investment stock in Germany, mainly in the financial and insurance industries.

On Tuesday, Wong also had lunch with German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck.

The MFA statement said they noted the “growing economic relations” between their two countries, and welcomed Germany’s interest in deepening cooperation with our region, as well as opportunities to reinforce economic ties between Asean and the EU.

Meeting Singaporeans in Germany

Wong capped his Berlin trip with a reception for Singaporeans living in Germany on Tuesday evening. Held at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin, the event served Singapore fare such as chicken rice, laksa and satay.

Addressing the nearly 300 attendees, Wong said that the past two days in Berlin had been “fruitful”, and that Singapore values its relationship with Germany, especially amid tumultuous changes in the world.

He cited how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had “changed everything”. This was in contrast to how, for a long time, wars were thought to be a thing of the past in Europe.

“Now we are back in an era of great power politics and we have to brace ourselves for more competition and possibly even conflict in the world,” he said.

It is therefore important for countries to work closely and shape better global outcomes, said Wong. Singapore is able to do this with Germany as both countries are aligned on many fronts.

“We share common strategic perspectives around upholding rule of law, multilateralism, open trading systems, pushing back against protectionism and economic fragmentation, just to cite a few examples,” he said.

The second and final leg of Wong’s Europe trip takes him to Paris, where he will be from Wednesday to Saturday. While in the French capital, his itinerary includes a call on French President Emmanuel Macron as well as attending the opening of Temasek Holdings’ new office there.