01 Aug 2019
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan met UK First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide, European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission (HR/VP) Federica Mogherini, and Minister of External Affairs of India Dr S Jaishankar on 1 August 2019 on the sidelines of the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings (AMM) in Bangkok, Thailand.
Minister Balakrishnan congratulated Foreign Secretary Raab on his appointment and welcomed the UK’s continued efforts to strengthen its engagement of ASEAN. They reaffirmed the strong multi-faceted relationship between Singapore and the UK, and their mutual support for the Singapore-UK Partnership for the Future (P4F) launched in January this year. They also exchanged views on regional and international developments, and reiterated the commitment of both countries to free trade and the rules-based multilateral order.
Minister Balakrishnan and Minister Søreide reaffirmed the excellent ties between Singapore and Norway, and exchanged views on regional and international developments. Minister Balakrishnan also thanked Norway for its continued support for Singapore’s Observership on the Arctic Council.
As the 52nd AMM would mark EU HR/VP Mogherini’s last ASEAN meeting in her current capacity, Minister Balakrishnan took the opportunity to thank EU HR/VP Mogherini for her strong support and personal efforts in deepening both ASEAN-EU and Singapore-EU relations during her term. Minister Balakrishnan said that he looked forward to her continued support for strengthening cooperation between the two regions.
Minister Balakrishnan and Minister Jaishankar reaffirmed the strong bilateral cooperation, and emphasised the importance of stepping up regional economic integration. They also exchanged views on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
1 AUGUST 2019