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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Southeast Asia

Myanmar

Singapore's diplomatic relationships and recent highlights with Myanmar.

Overview

Singapore and Myanmar celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2016. Both countries enjoy warm bilateral relations and work closely at regional and multilateral fora. Economic relations are growing, with Singapore being consistently among Myanmar’s top investors and trading partners in recent years.

Since 2001, Singapore has been supporting Myanmar’s human resource development through the Singapore Cooperation Programme and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration. Through the Singapore-Myanmar Technical Cooperation Programme, Singapore also shares our developmental experience (in economic development, human resource development, and public administration) with Myanmar. The Singapore-Myanmar Vocational Training Institute (SMVTI) was launched in June 2016 (during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit) as a symbol of our vocational education cooperation in engineering services, electrical skills and electronics, facilities management, and hospitality. Singapore formally handed over the SMVTI to Myanmar in February 2020.

Recent highlights

2020

  • Then-Minister (Education) Ong Ye Kung attended the Singapore-Myanmar Vocational Training Institute handover ceremony in Yangon in February.

2019

  • Myanmar Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and National Security Advisor U Thaung Tun attended the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue and also met Minister (Foreign Affairs) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

  • Myanmar Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and National Security Advisor U Thaung Tun made a working visit in September, where he was a speaker at the Singapore Summit. He also met DPM Heng Swee Keat and Minister (Foreign Affairs) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

  • Minister (Trade and Industry) Chan Chun Sing visited Yangon in September, where he co-chaired the 7th Singapore-Myanmar Joint Ministerial Working Committee with Myanmar Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and National Security Advisor U Thaung Tun.

2018

  • Myanmar State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi made a working visit to Singapore in August, where she called on President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also delivered the 43rd Singapore Lecture organised by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, titled “Myanmar’s Democratic Transition: Challenges and Way Forward”.

  • Minister (Foreign Affairs) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan made a working visit to Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in November and met Myanmar State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Both sides discussed bilateral issues and developments in Myanmar, including the situation in Rakhine State.

  • Myanmar Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye visited Singapore in November. Dr Win Myat Aye was the keynote speaker at the S Rajaratnam School for International Studies Seminar “Cyclone Nargis Ten Years on: A Decade of New Humanitarian Partnerships in Southeast Asia”, and also called on Minister (Foreign Affairs) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

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