Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, today held a bilateral meeting with Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President, Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong.
During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and Prime Minister Lee committed to strengthening cooperation in the next phase of the relationship under the Singapore-New Zealand Enhanced Partnership and agreed to elevate the relationship by the end of 2025.
“Meeting with Prime Minister Lee was an opportunity to discuss the breadth and depth of our relationship, and our ambitions for doing more together as close partners,” says Mr Luxon.
The Prime Ministers agreed to streamline flows of critical supplies between Singapore and New Zealand during times of crisis. It reflects both countries’ shared core interests in building resilient supply chains that protect food and energy security, and wider national security interests, the NZ Government said in a statement.
As New Zealand and Singapore mark the 50th Anniversary of New Zealand Defence Forces in South East Asia, the two countries will continue to strengthen defence and security cooperation, the Prime Minister said.
New Zealand and Singapore also agreed to continue cooperation on green economy initiatives, including on energy and transport technology, and finance and investment including carbon markets. The Prime Ministers agreed to green economy business missions to identify opportunities in those areas.
“Singapore is New Zealand’s closest security and economic partner in South East Asia. We are aligned as small, advanced economies and we are natural partners in addressing common challenges,” said Mr Luxon.
The PM also acknowledged the significant contribution Prime Minister Lee had made to the close ties between our two countries over many decades.
