SINGAPORE - Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is making an official visit to Germany from April 8 to 10 and France from April 10 to 13, and he will call on senior government and industry leaders of both countries.
The visits build on Singapore’s warm, longstanding and multifaceted ties with the two countries, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on April 7. This is DPM Wong’s first visit to Europe in his current capacity.
In Berlin, DPM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, will call on German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He will also meet Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck as well as Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
DPM Wong will also meet German industry leaders and attend a reception with overseas Singaporeans in Germany.
In Paris, DPM Wong will call on French President Emmanuel Macron and meet Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire.
He will attend the opening of Singapore-headquartered global investment company Temasek’s office in Paris on April 10 and meet French industry leaders and overseas Singaporeans in France.
Germany is Singapore’s largest European Union trading partner, and total bilateral trade in goods and services exceeded $37 billion in 2023.
Germany is also Singapore’s third-largest investment destination in the EU and among the largest EU investors in Singapore. As at end-2023, there were over 2,300 German companies in Singapore, including household names like Bosch, Deutsche Post DHL, Infineon Technologies, Siemens and industrial engineering conglomerate ThyssenKrupp.
France is Singapore’s second-largest trading partner in the EU, while Singapore is France’s top trading partner in Asean. Total bilateral trade in goods and services exceeded $30 billion in 2023.
France is the Republic’s fourth-largest EU investor, with almost 2,600 French enterprises operating here. They include Airbus, LVMH and Schneider Electric.
Singapore maintains strong and multi-sectoral ties with both European countries.
Besides close economic and defence cooperation with Germany, the Republic is also deepening its partnership with Berlin in emerging areas such as green economy, renewable energy and cyber security.
Both sides inked the Germany-Singapore Framework for Sustainability and Innovation in November 2022 to deepen bilateral economic collaboration and promote initiatives in digital economy and green technologies.
With France, Singapore has likewise deepened cooperation in these fields. Singapore and France signed a Digital and Green Partnership in March 2022 that focuses on bilateral projects in areas such as joint research and development by each other’s companies, artificial intelligence and heritage conservation.
Singapore and France will commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025.
Officials from the ministries of foreign affairs and finance will accompany DPM Wong for both visits. He will also be accompanied by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan while in France.
