Singapore has good relations with the countries of Europe. There is a steady stream of visits by Leaders, Ministers, MPs and Officials in both directions. Through a network of resident Embassies, non-resident Ambassadors and Honorary Consuls-General, Singapore maintains and develops its links with most European countries. Singapore’s relations with the European Union (EU) and individual member states are growing steadily across different sectors. In recent years, Singapore has also expanded contacts and deepened relations with Central and Eastern European countries.
Singapore also engages Europe through the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process, which was first initiated in 1996, and the ASEAN-EU Dialogue Partnership. The Asia-Europe Foundation, which was established under the aegis of ASEM, is hosted in Singapore. As ASEAN Chair, Singapore hosted the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit (AECS) on 22 November 2007 back-to-back with the ASEAN Summit to mark the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-EU relations.
A key pillar of Singapore's relations with Europe has traditionally been economic cooperation. Singapore acts as the hub for European business in the Asia-Pacific region. The German Centre for Industry and Trade, the German-Singapore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Singapore-British Business Council, the France-Singapore Business Council and the Nordic European Centre have been established to help European small and medium enterprises start-up their operations in Singapore and the region. The Russia-Singapore Business Forum, which has been held in Singapore since 2006, continues to help forge business-to-business linkages between Russia and Singapore. There are more than 8,500 European companies in Singapore. Many use Singapore as their regional headquarters, logistics and distribution centers for the region. Collectively, the EU is among Singapore's largest foreign investors and global trading partners. The launch of the EU-Singapore FTA negotiations in March 2010 is another step forward in Singapore-EU relations. The EU-Singapore FTA would facilitate deeper economic engagement between Singapore and the EU.
Singapore and European countries cooperate closely at the bilateral and multilateral levels on cross - border issues of mutual interest, such as security, energy and climate change. For instance, Singapore and France signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership during French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's official visit on 18 October 2012, bringing the close bilateral relationship between the two countries to the next level. Singapore has also embarked on technical cooperation agreements with European countries, working together to impart technical skills to third countries.
Singapore-Europe cooperation also extends to numerous other areas, including arts and culture, research and development, education, heritage, health and sports. Academic and student exchanges between Singapore and Europe are active, as are collaborations and exchanges among the museums of Singapore and Europe. European films, cultural groups and artistes are regularly featured in the Singapore Film Festival, Singapore Arts Festival and Singapore Biennale. An increasing number of Singapore cultural and performing arts groups and artistes are also making appearances in the great cultural venues and events in Europe. The Government-to-Government Agreement on Cultural Cooperation concluded with France in 2009 has borne fruit, with a number of initiatives implemented over the years. Following are a list of events and exhibitions held in collaboration between our local art agencies and their European counterparts:
The Singapore Arts Festival worked with Barcelona-based theatre company Teatro de los Sentidos to present a work for the Singapore Arts Festival 2011
A cultural-business extravaganza Spotlight Singapore in Moscow was held in Moscow in June 2008 with a range of programmes spanning the arts and business
Spotlight Singapore: Young Entrepreneurs Series, an event targeting entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years old, was held in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic from 28 June to 4 July 2012.
The Singapore Festivarts was held at the Musee du’Quai Branly in Paris from October 2010 to February 2011.
From 26 October 2011 to 5 February 2012, the National Museum of Singapore presented Dreams and Reality: Masterpieces of Painting, Drawing and Photography from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, as part of a collaborative effort with Musée d’Orsay.
NHB and the French Ministry of Culture jointly organised a “Malraux Seminar” in Singapore on 20 March 2012, which saw a broad exchange of views between French and Singapore cultural experts at a seminar entitled “Audience Development in Culture and the Arts”.
The National Museum of Singapore also worked with the National Historical Museum of Ukraine and the Museum of Historical Treasures to present an exhibition entitled “Gold Rush: Treasures of Ukraine” from 29 May to 26 August 2012.
Singapore hosts a large community of Europeans. They are well-integrated into the local community and their many contributions enhance the diversity and cosmopolitan nature of the country. Many European cultural institutions are also well represented in Singapore, including the Goethe-Institut, Italian Cultural Institute, Alliance Française de Singapour and the British Council.
Europe
2010 Incoming Visits
Working visit of HE Urmas Paet, Foreign Minister of Estonia (8 – 11 Jan 2010)
Visit of Sergey Mironov, Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia (APPF) (17 – 20 Jan 2010)
Working visit of HE Petro Poroshenko, Foreign Minister of Ukraine (20 – 21 Jan 2010)
Visit of HE Beatriz Corredor, Minister for Housing of Spain to attend HDB’s International Housing Conference (IHC) (25 – 29 Jan 2010)
Visit of Prof Frank Kelly, Master of Christ’s College, UK (4 Feb 2010)
Private visit of Wolfgang Schussel, former Austrian Chancellor for a lecture at LKYSPP (8 – 12 Feb 2010)
Visit of Michel Destot, Mayor of Grenoble of France for the MFA Distinguished Visitors Programme (16 – 20 Feb 2010)
Visit of HE Karel De Gucht, EU Trade Commissioner to launch the EUSFTA negotiations (3 Mar 2010)
Working visit of HE Roland Koch, Minister-President of the German Federal State of Hess, Germany (7 – 8 Mar 2010)
Visit of HE Miroslav Lajcak, Foreign Minister of the Slovak Republic (26 Mar 2010)
Working visit of Jean Betermier, President of Forum du Futur , Vice-Admiral of France (9 Apr 2010)
Working visit of Christian Duhain, Head of EADS International and Advisor to EADS COO for Marketing, Strategy and Global Development of France (6 - 9 Apr 2010)
Working Visit of HE Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (11 – 13 Apr 2010)
Working visit of HE Franck Biancheri, Minister Plenipotentiary, Government Counsellor for External Relations and for International Economic and Financial Affairs of Monaco (19 - 20 Apr 2010)
Working visit of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK to attend the National Achievers’ Congress 2010 (27 – 29 Apr 2010)
Working visit of Lech Walesa, former President of Poland (6 – 8 May 2010)
Working visit of Alain Franchon, Editor and Director of Le Monde, France (9 – 15 May 2010)
Working visit of HE Huguet I Biosca, Minister of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise, Government of Catalonia, Spain (25 – 26 May 2010)
Working visit of Dr Annette Schavan, Federal Minister for Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany (31 May 2010)
Working visit of Vice-Admiral Jean Betermier, President of Forum du Futur of France to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue (6 Jun 2010)
Working visit of Christian Duhain, Head of EADS International and Advisor to EADS COO for Marketing, Strategy and Global Development of France to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue (6 Jun 2010)
Working visit of Alexander Levintal, Deputy of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian Federation (6 - 9 Jun 2010)
Working visit of Dr John Chipman CNG, Director-General and Chief Executive IISS and Francois Heisbourg, Chairman of IISS, UK (7 Jun 2010)
Working visit of Liam Fox, Defence Secretary of the UK to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue (7 – 9 Jun 2010)
Visit of Martin Plachy, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development of the Czech Republic (8 – 13 Jun 2010)
Working visit of Lord Peter Mandelson, former First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills of the UK (24 Jun 2010)
Working visit of HRH Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange and Crown Prince of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (28 Jun – 1 Jul 2010)
Working visit of HE Sergey Sobyanin, DPM of the Russian Federation (8 – 10 Jul 2010)
Official visit of HE Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation (9 – 10 Jul 2010)
Working visit of Leonid Kozhara, President of the Centre for International and Comparative Studies, Deputy Head of Committee for Foreign Affairs of Verkhovna and Advisor to President of Ukraine (11 – 17 Jul 2010)
Working visit of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK (30 Jul – 1 Aug 2010)
Working visit of HE Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation (14 – 15 Aug 2010)
Working visit of HE Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Russian Federation (14 – 15 Aug 2010)
Visit of Jurgen Klimke, Member of Parliament, Federal Republic of Germany (17 – 18 Aug 2010)
Working visit of HSH Prince Albert II of the Principality of Monaco for the Youth Olympic Games (15 – 20 Aug 2010)
Visit of Dagmar Freitag, Member of Parliament, Federal Republic of Germany (16 – 20 Aug 2010)
Working visit of Volker Kauder, Chairman and the leadership of the CDU Parliamentary Group of the Bundestag, Federal Republic of Germany (26 – 28 Aug 2010)
Visit of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein (2 – 4 Sep 2010)
Visit of Jordi Hereu Boher, Mayor of Barcelona (3 – 6 Sep 2010)
Visit of Sir David Omand of the UK to attend the Global Futures Forum (12 – 15 Sep 2010)
Working visit of HE Sergey Sobyanin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation (25 Sep – 2 Oct 2010)
Visit of Prof Dr Peter Frankenberg, Minister of Science, Research and the Arts of the Federal State of Baden-Wurttemberg, Federal Republic of Germany (27 – 28 Sep 2010)
Working visit of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, UK (15 Oct 2010)
Working visit of Prof Alexey Pushkov, Director of Institute of Contemporary International Studies of Russian Federation at the invitation of the LKYSPP (1 – 9 Nov 2010)
Working visit of HE Stefan Mappus, Minister President of the Federal State of Baden-Wurttemberg, Federal Republic of Germany (21 – 22 Nov 2010)
Working visit of Oleksandr Gorin, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine (1 Dec 2010)
2011 Incoming Visits
Working visit of Dr Jacques Attali, President of PlaNet Finance of France (11 – 13 Jan 2011)
Working visit of Sir Peter Ricketts, National Security Advisor of the UK (21 Jan 2011)
State visit of HE Heinz Fischer, Federal President of the Republic of Austria (20 – 22 Feb 2011)
Working visit of Thierry de Montbrial, Director General of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) (21 – 22 Feb 2011)
Working visit of HE Vuk Jeremic, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Serbia (24 – 25 Feb 2011)
Working visit of Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the UK (1 – 2 Mar 2011)
Working visit of Rt Hon David Miliband, Member of Parliament of the UK (13 – 14 Mar 2011)
Working visit of Jordi Canals, Dean of IESE School, Spain (22 Mar 2011)
Working visit of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK (23 – 25 Mar 2011)
State visit of HE Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (27 – 29 Mar 2011)
Working visit of Prof Jan Peter Balkenenede, former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1 Apr 2011)
Working visit of Sir John Major, former Prime Minister of the UK (4 – 10 Apr 2011)
Working visit of HE Jeremy Browne, Minister of State of the UK (7 – 8 Apr 2011)
Official visit of HE Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain (14 – 15 Apr 2011)
Working visit of HE Juraj Miskov, Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic (17 - 18 Apr 2011)
Study visit of Yury Vorobiev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federation Assembly of the Russian Federation (18 - 22 Apr 2011)
Official Visit by of HE Dr Aurelia Frick, Foreign Minister of Liechtenstein (20 - 21 Apr 2011)
Visit of Igor Yurgens, Head of the Institute of Contemporary Development under the MFA Visitors Programme (24 - 29 Apr 2011)
Visit of Annette Widmann-Mauz, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Republic of Germany (4 - 6 May 2011)
Working visit of HE Nika Gilauri, Prime Minister of Georgia (18 - 20 May 2011)
Working visit of HE Kris Peeters, Minister-President of Flemish Government and Minister for Economic Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium (19 - 20 May 2011)
Working visit of HE Jeannot Krecke, Minister of Economy and Trade of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (20 - 21 May 2011)
Official visit of HE Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic Germany (1 - 2 Jun 2011)
Working visit of HE Mikhail Margelov, Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Council (1 - 2 Jun 2011)
Visit of Lord Powell of Bayswater of the UK to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue (2 - 5 Jun 2011)
Working visit of Dr Liam Fox, Secretary of State for Defence of the UK to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue (2 - 5 Jun 2011)
Visit of John Spellar, Shadow Foreign Minister of the UK (2 - 5 Jun 2011)
Working visit of HE Carl Bildt, Foreign Minister of Sweden (4 Jun 2011)
Working visit of Sir Jon Cunliffe, Prime Minister's Advisor on International Economic Affairs and Europe of the UK (17 Jun 2011)
Visit of Dr. H.P.M. Knapen, Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands(1 - 2 Jul 2011)
Visit of Lord Peter Levene, Chairman of Lloyd’s (15 Jul 2011)
Visit of Yvan De Mesmaeker, European Corporate Security Association (1 - 5 Aug 2011)
Visit of Chenva Tieu, National Secretary in-charge of Asia in the Union for a Popular Movement (8 - 10 Aug 2011)
Visit of Grzegorz Napieralski, Member of Parliament and Chairman of Democratic Left Alliance, Republic of Poland (11 Aug 2011)
Visit of Dirk Fischer, Member of Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany (21 - 23 Aug 2011)
Visit of Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth (1 - 3 Sep 2011)
Visit of Lord Peter Mandelson for the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship (16 - 23 Sep 2011)
Visit of Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the UK (25 - 26 Sep 2011)
Visit of HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, UK (29 - 30 Sep 2011)
Visit of Jan Muecke, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, Federal Republic of Germany (4 - 6 Oct 2011)
Visit of HE Luc Frieden, Finance Minister, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (17 Oct 2011)
Visit of Edouard Courtial, Minister of State, France (25 Oct 2011)
Visit of Dr Vince Cable, Business Secretary, UK (29 - 31 Oct 2011)
Visit of Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See (1 Nov 2011)
Working Visit of HE Andrus Ansip, Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia (8 - 9 Nov 2011)
Official Visit of HE Janos Martonyi, Foreign Minister of Hungary (8 - 9 Nov 2011)
Working visit of HE Nikola Gruevski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia (28 - 29 Nov 2011)
2012 Incoming Visits
Visit of Lord Williams of Baglan for the MFA Distinguished Visitors Programme (24 - 30 Jan 2012)
Visit of Jean-Francois Cope, Secretary-General of the Union for a Popular Movement Party, for the second France-Singapore Forum (12 - 13 Feb 2012)
Working visit of HE Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (13 Feb 2012)
Visit of HE Siim Kallas, EU Transport Commissioner, for the Aviation Leaders Summit (13 Feb 2012)
Visit of HE Cornelia Pieper, Minister of State of the Federal Foreign Office, Federal Republic of Germany(13 - 14 Feb 2012)
Visit of HE Gérard Longuet, Defense Minister of France for the Singapore Airshow 2012 (14 - 15 Feb 2012)
Visit of HE Thierry Mariani, Transport Minister of France for the Singapore Airshow 2012 (14 - 15 Feb 2012)
Visit of HE Stanislaw Tillich, Minister-President of the Free State of Saxony, Federal Republic of Germany (14 - 16 Feb 2012)
Visit of HE Juhan Parts, Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications, Estonia (14 - 17 Feb 2012)
Visit of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament (19 - 20 Feb 2012)
Visit of the Bundestag ASEAN Parliamentary Group (19 - 21 Feb 2012)
Visit of Gustaf Lind, Arctic Council SAO Chair, for the World Oceans Summit (22 - 24 Feb 2012)
Visit of HE Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, for the World Oceans Summit (23 Feb 2012)
Official visit of HE Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia (27 - 28 Feb 2012)
Visit of Lord Powell of Bayswater, UK (27 - 28 Feb 2012)
Official visit of HE Giulio Terzi Di Sant’Agata, Foreign Minister of Italy (1 - 2 March 2012)
Visit of Maire Georghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation, and Science (2 - 3 Mar 2012)
Official visit of HE Edmond Haxhinasto, Foreign Minister of Republic of Albania (7 - 8 Mar 2012)
Working visit of HE Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey (7 - 9 Mar 2012)
Visit of Alain Berset, Federal Councillor of the Swiss Confederation (16 - 19 Mar 2012)
Visit of Members of Parliament from the France-Singapore Parliamentary Group (19 – 23 Mar 2012)
Visit of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron (13 April 2012)
Visit of the Governor and Mayor of Vienna Dr Michael Häupl (16 - 18 April 2012)
Visit of UK First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary William Hague (25-26 April 2012)
Official Visit of HE Edgars Rinkēvičs, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Latvia (30 Apr - 2 May 2012)
Visit of Delegates from the European Parliament's Delegation to ASEAN and Southeast Asia (1 - 4 May 2012)
State visit of the President of the Portugese Republic, Anibal Cavaco Silva (27 - 28 May 2012)
Official visit of HE Vuk Jeremić, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Serbia (27-29 May 2012)
Visit of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ( 11-13 Sep 2012)
Visit of HE Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, for the 3rd High Level Russia-Singapore Inter-Governmental Commission (12-13 Sep 2012)
Visit of HE Wolfgang Schäuble, Federal Minister of Finance of Germany (13 - 14 Oct 2012)
Official Visit of HE Jean-Marc Ayrault, Prime Minister of the French Republic (16 - 18 Oct 2012)
Working visit of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK to attend the SkyBridge Alternatives (SALT) Conference (16-18 Oct 2012)
Official Visit of HE Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland (3 - 4 Nov 2012)
Official Visit of HE Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (6 - 7 Nov 2012)
Visit of HE Espen Barth Eide, Foreign Minister of Norway (7 Nov 2012)
Official Visit of HE José Manuel García-Margallo, Foreign Minister of Spain (8 Nov 2012)
2010 Outgoing Visits
Working visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to Geneva (Opening of chancery), Bern, Fribourg and Zurich (Switzerland) and Davos (WEF conference) (24 – 29 Jan 2010)
Working visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to Liechtenstein (30 – 31 Jan 2010)
Official visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to Baku, Azerbaijan (18 – 22 Mar 2010)
Official visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to Spain, Andorra, San Marino and Holy See (13 – 22 Apr 2010)
Working visit of Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed to Vienna, Austria for a seminar on Inter-faith Dialogue and London, UK (19 – 30 Jun 2010)
Official visit of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew to Moscow (Russia), Kiev (Ukraine) and London (UK)(11 – 26 Sep 2010)
Official visit of Prime Minister to Belgium and Netherlands for ASEM VIII Summit (1 – 6 Oct 2010)
Official visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to Iceland (2 – 8 Oct 2010)
Visit of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew to London, UK (18 – 21 Oct 2010)
State visit of President S R Nathan to Finland (24 – 29 Oct 2010)
2011 Outgoing Visits
Working visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to Spain for IESE Business School International Advisory Meeting (7 – 9 Apr 2011)
Working Visit of Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam to Bern, Switzerland for G30 Meetings (26 May – 1 Jun 2011)
Working Visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K. Shanmugam to Hungary for the 10th ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting (6-7 Jun 2011)
Official visit of Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam to Berlin, Germany for the 50th Anniversary of the Bergedorf Round Table (9-13 Sep 2011)
Visit of Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam to Moscow, Russia for the 2nd High Level Russia-Singapore Inter-Governmental Commission (12-13 Sep 2011)
2012 Outgoing Visits
Visit of Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Foreign Affairs & Community Development, Youth and Sports) Sam Tan to Rome, Italy for the Ministerial Conference on ASEAN Awareness (22-23 March 2012)
Official Visit of President Tony Tan Keng Yam to Munich, Berlin and Lindau, Germany to attend the 62nd Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting (24 June - 3 July 2012)
Visit of President Tony Tan Keng Yam to the United Kingdom for the London Summer Olympics Games ( 26 Jul - 3 Aug 2012)
Visit of Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Foreign Affairs & Community Development, Youth and Sports) Sam Tan to London, United Kingdom (29 Aug - 3 Sep 2012)
Visit of Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Foreign Affairs & Community Development, Youth and Sports) Sam Tan to Akureyri, Iceland to attend the 10th Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (5 - 7 Sept 2012)
Visit of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Vladivostok, Russia for the Asia-Pacific Economic cooperation (APEC) Leader's Meeting ( 8 - 9 Sep 2012)
Visit of Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Foreign Affairs & Community Development, Youth and Sports) Sam Tan to the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic to attend the Spotlight Singapore: Young Entrepreneurs Series (23 - 27 Sept 2012)
Visit of Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Foreign Affairs & Community Development, Youth and Sports) Sam Tan to Berlin, Germany for the Second ASEM Meeting of Governors and Mayors (18 - 19 Oct 2012)
Visit of Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Foreign Affairs & Community Development, Youth and Sports) Sam Tan to Vienna, Austria and Ljubljana, Slovenia ( 21 - 25 Oct 2012)
