Singapore FM to visit PH on April 15-17 to boost trade, security ties

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will be in Manila next week for a three-day official visit aimed at bolstering economic, security and political cooperation with the Philippines.

Balakrishnan will meet Philippine counterpart Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo “to discuss ways to further strengthen Philippines-Singapore relations, as well as to exchange views on regional and international developments,” a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) statement said Friday.

The visit of Balakrishnan on April 15 to 17 “follows the successful convening of the 6th Informal-Consultations on the Philippine-Singapore Action Plan (IC-PSAP) last February 2024,” the DFA said.

Balakrishnan’s last visit to the Philippines was on June 13, 2017.

“The current visit is expected to build on the gains of the IC-PSAP and plan for future engagements as relations between the two countries continue to deepen,” the DFA said.

For more than five decades, the Philippines and Singapore have had multi-faceted engagement in the areas of defense and security, trade and investment, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. 

The two countries, both founding members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), will mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations in May this year. —KBK, GMA Integrated News