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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Oceania

The Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste

Singapore's diplomatic relationships and recent highlights with The Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste.

Overview

Singapore, the Pacific Island States and Timor-Leste are small island states that share warm and friendly relations.

Singapore has been sharing our development experience and supporting the capacity-building efforts of the Pacific Island States and Timor-Leste through the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). To date, close to 6,000 officials from the Pacific Island States and Timor-Leste have participated in the SCP, in areas such as finance, civil service matters, economic development and civil aviation. Singapore has also provided technical assistance to the Pacific Island States and Timor-Leste in specific areas of interest, upon their request.

Singapore has supported the Pacific Island States in their efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including sharing our experience in managing the COVID-19 situation in Singapore and development of contact tracing apps.

Recent highlights

2020

  • Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan had a teleconversation with Fiji Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Public Enterprises, Civil Service and Communications Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum in April to discuss bilateral cooperation amid COVID-19.

2019

  • Vanuatu Prime Minister and Minister Responsible for ICT, Telecommunication & Broadcasting Charlot Salwai, the Cook Islands Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Telecommunications Mark Brown, as well as Communications Ministers from Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, attended the Asia Pacific ICT Ministerial Meeting, in conjunction with the Smart Nation Innovations Week in Singapore from 25 to 26 June.

  • Timor-Leste Defence Minister Brigadier-General (Rtd) Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus visited Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue from 31 May to 2 June.

  • Timor-Leste Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Dionísio Babo Soares made an official introductory visit to Singapore from 8 to 9 July.

  • Samoa Minister of Justice and Courts Administration Fa’aolesa Katopau T. Ainu’u, Solomon Islands Minister for Justice and Legal Affairs Kaitu’u Tautai Agikimua, and Vanuatu Minister of Justice and Community Services Don Ken Stephen attended the signing ceremony of the Singapore Convention on Mediation in Singapore on 7 August.

  • Timor-Leste Minister of Justice Manuel Cárceres Da Costa attended the signing ceremony of the Singapore Convention on Mediation in Singapore on 7 August.

  • Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman visited Dili, Timor-Leste to attend Timor-Leste’s 20th Anniversary of the Referendum celebrations from 29 to 31 August.

  • Nauru President Lionel Aingimea met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan during his private visit to Singapore in October.

2018

  • Timor-Leste Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation  Prof. Dr. Aurelio Guterres made his first official visit to Singapore on 29 January .  Minister Guterres paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and was hosted to lunch by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

  • Papua New Guinea Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Rimbink Pato visited Singapore on 9 April, where he was hosted to lunch by Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki bin Osman.

  • Timor-Leste Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Dionisio Babo Soares attended the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings in Singapore, during which he met Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on 2 August.

  • Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan hosted a luncheon for the leaders of the Pacific Island States and Timor-Leste on the sidelines of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York on 28 September.

  • Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki bin Osman met Papua New Guinea Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Rimbink Pato on the sidelines of the 30th APEC Ministerial Meeting in Port Moresby on 14 November.