SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is making his first official visit to Australia and New Zealand as head of government from Oct 6 to 11, as the Republic commemorates 60 years of diplomatic relations with both countries.
The six-day visit will reaffirm the excellent state of bilateral ties with both nations, said the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement on Monday (Oct 6).
PM Wong will be in Sydney and Canberra from Oct 6 to 9, and in Auckland from Oct 9 to 11.
In Canberra, PM Wong and Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will hold the 10th Singapore-Australia Leaders’ Meeting.
The two leaders will then sign a joint declaration to launch an upgraded Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), or CSP 2.0.
Singapore and Australia stepped up relations in 2015 with the city-state’s first CSP - a high-level and broad-ranging diplomatic relationship that Singapore has with only a few countries.
To date, the CSP which encompasses bilateral cooperation in several sectors, has seen over 110 completed initiatives across economics and trade, defence and foreign affairs, science and innovation, people-to-people links, the digital economy, as well as the green economy.
While in Australia’s capital, PM Wong will also call on Governor-General Sam Mostyn and meet Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley.
In Sydney, PM Wong will meet New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and senior business leaders, and have a dialogue at the Lowy Institute, an independent think tank.
In Auckland, PM Wong and his delegation will have a meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. This will be followed by the signing of a joint statement to launch the Singapore-New Zealand CSP.
This CSP is a step up from the two countries’ Enhanced Partnership (EP), which was signed in May 2019 during then-PM Jacinda Ardern’s Official Visit to Singapore to formally upgrade bilateral relations.
Under the EP, over 40 initiatives have been concluded across trade and economics, security and defence, science, technology, and innovation, people-to-people links, climate change and green economy, as well as supply chains and connectivity.
During his trip, PM Wong will lay wreaths at the Australian War Memorial and Auckland War Memorial Museum.
He will also meet overseas Singaporeans at receptions in Canberra and Auckland to celebrate Singapore’s 60th year of independence.
Singapore has strong bilateral ties with both Australia and New Zealand, marked by substantive cooperation and steady high-level exchanges.
Australia was Singapore’s 12th largest trading partner in 2024, with total bilateral trade in goods amounting to $30.3 billion. Singapore was also Australia’s sixth-largest foreign investor in 2023.
Albanese was last in Singapore in May for a working visit, and met with PM Wong. This was shortly after both countries’ respective general elections - Australians and Singaporeans both went to the polls on May 3.
More recently, in August, Mostyn met President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and PM Wong during a state visit to Singapore.
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles also met PM Wong and Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue in June.
New Zealand was Singapore’s 31st largest trading partner in 2024, with bilateral trade in goods amounting to $5.1 billion. The bilateral free trade agreement the two countries signed in 2000 was Singapore’s first, and New Zealand’s second.
In March, then-Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen visited Auckland, where he co-chaired the fourth Singapore-NZ Defence Ministers’ Meeting with his counterpart Judith Collins.
This followed Luxon’s official visit to Singapore in April 2024, when he called on Shanmugaratnam and met with then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
PM Wong will be accompanied on his visit by his wife Loo Tze Lui, and several ministers including Chan and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.
He will be joined in Australia by Minister for Manpower and Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology Dr Tan See Leng, while Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu will join the New Zealand leg.
The Singapore delegation will also comprise MPs Nadia Ahmad Samdin and Victor Lye, as well as officials.
In PM Wong’s absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will be Acting Prime Minister from Oct 6 to 8, while Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam will take on the role from Oct 9 to 11. - The Nation/ANN
[SRC] https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2025/10/06/singapore-pm-visits-australia-new-zealand-to-mark-60-years-of-diplomatic-ties
