SINGAPORE'S FOREIGN POLICY
The fundamental principles of Singapore’s foreign policy are as follows:
- As a small state, Singapore has no illusions about the state of our region or the world.
- Singapore must always maintain a credible and deterrent military defence as the fundamental underpinning for an effective foreign policy;
- Singapore must promote and work for good relations with our immediate neighbours in all spheres;
- Singapore stands by its friends who have stood with it in times of need;
- Singapore is fully committed to the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN);
- Singapore will work to maintain a secure and peaceful environment in and around Southeast Asia, especially the Asia Pacific region;
- Singapore will continue to work for the maintenance of a free and open multilateral trading system;
- Singapore is ready to trade with any state for mutual benefit and maintain an open market economy;
- Singapore will support and be active in international organisations such as the United Nations (UN).
Singapore-Thailand Relations
Singapore and Thailand enjoy warm and friendly relations. Bilateral cooperation covers a wide range of areas from economic to defence, education and tourism. Both countries are committed to developing the Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Partnership (STEP) Programme. STEP enables the two countries to leverage on each others’ strengths and harness the synergies between Singapore and Thailand for mutual benefits. Singapore remains a major trading partner as well as a leading investor in Thailand. Bilateral co-operation in education is excellent and Singapore provides various scholarships at secondary, pre-university and tertiary levels for Thai students to study in Singapore. At a regional level, Singapore and Thailand work closely in many regional and multilateral fora including ASEAN, APEC and ASEM.
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