Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan to visit the Philippines from Apr 15 to 18

SINGAPORE’S Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan will visit the Philippines from next Monday (Apr 15), for a four-day visit that kicks off the commemoration of 55 years of diplomatic ties.

Dr Balakrishnan will call on Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Vice-President and Secretary of Education Sara Duterte, as well as Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Friday.

He will also meet Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano and members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The Singapore minister is also scheduled to meet the Philippine business community, at an engagement with the Makati Business Club. The private non-profit association in the Philippines serves to “promote the role of the business sector in national development efforts and as a forum for constructive ideas and action”, according to its website.

Dr Balakrishnan will subsequently be briefed on the progress and development of New Clark City, located within the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in the administrative region of Central Luzon. There, he is to be hosted by Delfin Lorenzana, chairman of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.

Dr Balakrishnan will also visit SIA Engineering (Philippines) and Clark International Airport.

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Relations between Singapore and the Philippines were formally established on May 16, 1969. The Philippines was Singapore’s 16th largest trading partner in merchandise in 2023, according to data from Singapore’s Department of Statistics. In the same year, Singapore was the Philippines’ fifth-largest export market.

During the visit, Dr Balakrishnan will be accompanied by his wife, Joy Balakrishnan, and MFA officials.