Joint Declaration on the Singapore- Germany Strategic Partnership, 18 November 2024

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz met at the G20 Summit in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Prime Minister Wong and Chancellor Scholz reaffirmed the excellent state of Singapore-Germany ties, and our mutual commitment to continue working together as like-minded partners. Prime Minister Wong and Chancellor Scholz issued a Joint Declaration to elevate Singapore-Germany relations to a Strategic Partnership.

The Strategic Partnership encompasses five pillars, namely: (a) Political, Defence, (Cyber) Security, and Intelligence Cooperation; (b) Trade, Investment, Transport, Digital; (c) Climate, Green Economy, Energy Transition; (d) Research Science, Tech, Innovation; and (e) Multilevel Cooperation for the Future. It is a milestone in Singapore-Germany ties as we approach the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025. The Strategic Partnership will chart an ambitious and comprehensive agenda for the future.

The full text of the Joint Declaration is at Annex.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
18 NOVEMBER 2024

Annex

JOINT DECLARATION ON THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

BETWEEN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

2024

Germany and Singapore are longstanding partners who enjoy a substantive and multifaceted relationship. We also share a strong commitment to multilateralism and a rules-based international order. This strategic convergence underpins our common desire to promote free trade and maintain an open and inclusive international architecture. This will help encourage greater peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.

Relations between Germany and Singapore are deep and extensive. They encompass strong political ties, flourishing trade and investment, significant cooperation in defence, security, and research and innovation, and warm people-to-people ties. Reflecting the innovative and forward-looking nature of our partnership, we are expanding our cooperation into newer areas like clean energy, climate action, connectivity, cybersecurity, and digitalisation.

Our close collaboration at multilateral fora, including at the United Nations, illustrates our like-mindedness in addressing pressing global challenges. We will continue working together to enhance the Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and the EU. We will explore cooperation between ASEAN and the EU including in the four priority areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, such as the digital and green economies.

The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore have also decided to elevate bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership. This builds on the 2022 Joint Declaration “Partners for a Resilient and Sustainable Future” and marks the next chapter of our ties as we head into the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2025. This will help encourage greater peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.

The Strategic Partnership will be guided by a comprehensive Joint Work Plan supported by five pillars that will include concrete initiatives in defence and security, trade and the digital economy, climate and clean technology, science and innovation, as well as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity (see Annex). The respective Foreign Ministries will regularly review progress and refine the Joint Work Plan accordingly, to ensure that we effectively identify and pursue opportunities for cooperation. Through this framework, we will harness our mutual strengths and work with key partners across all sectors to elevate our relationship.

Annex

Joint Work Plan 2025/2026

After consultations between our ministries, we have identified the following Joint Work Plan 2025/2026 to significantly strengthen cooperation in key areas.

I. Political, Defence, (Cyber) Security, and Intelligence Cooperation

1. Continue and increase high-level engagements and visits, underpinned by a growing strategic convergence of interests between both countries.

2. Deepen military-to-military cooperation in the areas of digitalisation and cybersecurity, Research & Development/Innovation, Armament – based on our already successful cooperation in the fields of main battle tanks and submarines –exercises, training, education, and exchanges. Explore further collaboration opportunities between our navies, armies, air and cyber forces, building upon the existing cooperation on armour-related training exercises and in submarine-related areas.

3. Establish a secure line of communication to exchange information.

4. Hold regular exchanges between Technisches Hilfswerk and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in civil defence and disaster management with the aim of enhancing the technological transformation of the respective organisations.

5. Further expand and deepen our cooperation on civil cybersecurity, including the migration to quantum-safe cryptography, and collaboration on standardisation and assurance of the technology.

6. Develop and enhance cooperation on AI security, including the exchange of views on emerging developments in AI security, collaboration on testing development and R&D, and collaboration on international standards-setting for secure AI. In addition, to work together on certification and standards development, such as for the Internet of Things and cloud security.

II. Trade, Investment, Transport, Digital

1. Deepen economic collaboration at the government-to-government, government-to-business, and business-to-business levels through the Germany-Singapore Framework for Sustainability and Innovation (FSI) signed on 13 November 2022.

2. Support the continued successful implementation of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which serves as a pathfinder for a possible future inter-regional FTA between the EU and ASEAN. Both sides acknowledge that the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement will enter into force, once ratified by all parties.

3. Launch expert dialogues on technology methods and frameworks to facilitate the exchange of electronic records used in commercial trading activities between enterprises.

4. Deepen cooperation on maritime digitalisation, such as through information exchange on autonomous vessels and efficient port calls and clearance between the ports of Germany and Singapore.

5. Deepen the cooperation in matters of land transport, including on autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles, through the relevant Joint Declaration of Intent between the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Singapore and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport of the Republic of Germany.

6. Facilitate a digital dialogue involving policymakers, regulators, and businesses, with a focus on the exchange of best practices on online safety and artificial intelligence.

7. Deepen our exchange on AI, especially on research and development of safe, secure, human-centric, accountable, sustainable, trustworthy, and regulation-compliant AI, and compare approaches to foster AI ecosystems.

8. Launch expert dialogues on economic security and geo-economic concepts covering trade, critical technologies and critical goods.

9. Jointly drive the development of dual-use technologies that enhance national security and economic competitiveness through planned and supported start-up cooperation in the defence sector.

10. Strengthen the cooperation between Singapore and Germany in the financial services sector, especially in the fintech sector.

11. Establish a dialogue on best practices and experiences with regard to the digitalisation of international legal assistance procedures in civil and commercial matters.

12. Jointly work within the e-Apostille framework of the Hague Conference on Private International Law to set standards (including security standards) for the digitalisation of international legal documents.

13. Intensify exchanges on workforce development, impact of technology and the future of work.

III. Climate, Green Economy, Energy Transition

1. Strengthen the cooperation between Singapore and Germany on green maritime decarbonisation initiatives, including port-to-port cooperation, such as information sharing on knowledge gaps for the development and update of zero and near-zero emissions fuels, including safety protocols for the handling and bunkering of such fuels.

2. Engage in regular dialogues and deepen cooperation on climate and sustainability issues, including on climate finance, bilaterally and through participation in multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Climate Club, and multilateral fora such as the Petersberg Climate Dialogue and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

3. Strengthen cooperation at the bilateral level through regular knowledge and technical exchanges, to promote a circular economy, particularly on the management of various waste streams, such as packaging waste, including plastics, and electronic waste; as well as on measures to enhance climate resilience, particularly in the areas of coastal protection, urban stormwater management and flood resilience.

4. Collaborate on initiatives that facilitate net zero transition, renewable energy, including hydrogen and its derivatives, cross-border electricity trading, and skills development.

5. Create areas of cooperation on carbon pricing, including carbon tax, carbon credit agreements, and decarbonisation technology.

IV. Research science, tech, innovation

1. Implement joint research grants and projects, for example in the fields of Quantum Technology, Medtech, Green Chemistry, Circular Economy, Carbon Capture Utilization, renewable energy technologies, including hydrogen and its derivatives, and Information and Communication Technologies, in cooperation with major German and Singapore research and intermediary organisations, university and industry stakeholders, and through initiatives such as the Singapore-Germany Collaboration Call of BMBF and A*STAR, the Germany-Singapore SME Funding Programme and EUREKA for joint innovation and R&D projects, and through talent flow and exchange, talent training and development related efforts.

2. Strengthen synergies between Singapore and Germany’s R&D and start-up ecosystems, particularly in the field of Deep Tech.

V. Multilevel cooperation for the Future

1. Further support the existing long-term cooperation on education such as partnerships and exchanges between schools and universities, and vocational training in mechanical and automotive engineering, including curriculum development for a new Technical Engineer Diploma (TED) in Electrical Engineering (Clean Energy) between Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education and schools in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg.

2. Further strengthen cultural exchange in both countries, and support cultural institutes, such as the Goethe-Institute Singapore, as mutual hubs of cultural communication.

3. Facilitate business partnerships and exchange of insights between German and Singapore enterprises through existing collaborative structures such as the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Germany Singapore Business Forum Connect (GSBF Connect) platform, with a focus on the key themes of Advanced Manufacturing, Innovation and Sustainability.

4. Strengthen partnerships at the state-level, including through liaison offices in Singapore, as currently maintained by Baden-Württemberg and Hesse, existing platforms like the FSI, or agency-level agreements with various federal states.

5. Work together to strengthen region-to-region cooperation between the EU and ASEAN in pursuit of mutual interests, in areas such as digital trade, green technologies, green services and supply chain resilience.

6. Encourage greater cooperation between Singapore and German cities and their mayors, including through participation at the World Cities Summit and the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum.