Singapore, France to work at elevating ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

[PARIS] Singapore and France will work towards elevating relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), ahead of the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on this at a working dinner at the Elysee Palace on Thursday (Apr 11), said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Wong is in Paris as part of a six-day trip to Germany and France – his first official visit to Europe since becoming DPM in 2022. In the Berlin leg of the trip, Singapore and Germany agreed to work towards upgrading relations to a Strategic Partnership.

France currently has a Strategic Partnership with Singapore and is the only European Union member state with one. Both countries upgraded relations from an Enhanced Partnership to a Strategic Partnership in October 2012.

Compared to a Strategic Partnership, a CSP will deepen existing areas of cooperation and enable new ones. Australia is currently the only country with which Singapore has a CSP; the city-state is also exploring the possibility of one with Vietnam.

“The upgrade to a CSP reflects the multifaceted cooperation between both countries and the joint desire to develop a forward-looking framework for cooperation in new sectors like the digital economy,” said MFA.

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Green focus

Separately, on Thursday night, Wong and Macron launched a year-long initiative – the France-Singapore Joint Year of Sustainability (JYOS) – to highlight bilateral cooperation in sustainable development and the green transition.

There will be a series of sustainability-focused events and initiatives from April 2024 to mid-2025, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of both countries’ ties. France was the first European country to establish diplomatic relations with Singapore in 1965.

The JYOS will promote bilateral initiatives and investments in green and sustainable development.

It builds on existing agreements between Singapore and France, such as both countries’ joint committee on science and innovation; the Digital and Green Partnership, which promotes cooperation in the digital and green sectors; and their memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the maritime field.

The initiative has five priority sectors:

• The circular economy;

• Renewable energy, energy efficiency and a sustainable built environment;

• Sustainability in the Digital and Green Partnership;

• Blended finance and transition financing; and

• Sustainability in the maritime domain.

During the dinner, Wong and Macron expressed satisfaction with both countries’ “strong and substantive ties”, MFA said.

They also discussed how to further cooperation between France and Singapore’s region, including initiatives such as the Asean Power Grid – an effort to integrate national power systems across South-east Asia.

Ties in ‘excellent shape’

Before the dinner with Macron, Wong attended a reception on Thursday evening for more than 200 Singaporeans living in France. This was held at Hotel Le Marois, and emceed by actress-host Sharon Au.

Wong emphasised the importance of Singapore’s bilateral relations with France, which he described as being “in excellent shape and on an upward trajectory”.

Singapore is the only country with a military presence in France without being a member of Nato.

“This illustrates the depth of our relationship, the trust that has been built at very high levels between the two governments, and our ability to work together in many different areas – from the economic sphere, to defence and security, cultural, and many other areas,” Wong said.

French companies have made their mark in Singapore, he noted. Manufacturer Alstom has built trains for Singapore, Airbus has made planes for Singapore Airlines, and Dragages designed the National Stadium.

The ties between the people of both countries are also deep. The French community is growing in the city-state, and so is the Singapore community in France, said Wong. “We are quite small, but still, the Singapore presence here is visible, and is thriving.”

Wong arrived in Paris on Wednesday for the opening of Temasek’s new office in the French capital.

He was in Berlin from Monday to Wednesday, and visited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck.