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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Southeast Asia

Philippines

Singapore's diplomatic relationships and recent highlights with Philippines.

Overview

Singapore and the Philippines celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2019. We enjoy warm bilateral relations and cooperate well in regional and multilateral fora.

The Philippines-Singapore Action Plan, established in 1997 following Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s visit to the Philippines, provides a framework for bilateral cooperation in areas such as economics, IT, education, and defence. Apart from robust trade relations, Singapore is also a major investor in the Philippines.

Recent highlights

2019

  • Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr made his introductory visit to Singapore in May at the invitation of Minister (Foreign Affairs) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

  • Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr visited Singapore in July at the invitation of Minister (Foreign Affairs) Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to launch the re-painted Alkaff Bridge. The artwork on the bridge was conceived by the late-Filipina artist Pacita Abad as a gift to Singapore in 2004.

  • President Halimah Yacob made a State Visit to the Philippines in September at the invitation of Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. Eight Memoranda of Understanding were signed in the areas of infrastructure development, smart cities solutions, water resource management, data protection, agri-trade, education, skills training, and arts and culture.

  • Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian visited Singapore as the 69th Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow in October.

  • Speaker Tan Chuan-jin visited Clark and Manila from 28 November to 4 December to attend the 30th SEA Games, in his capacity as President of the Singapore National Olympic Council. In conjunction with the SEA Games, then-Minister (Culture, Community and Youth) Grace Fu visited Manila in December, then-Minister (Social and Family Development) Desmond Lee visited Subic in December, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Culture, Community and Youth) Baey Yam Keng visited Clark in December.

2018

  • Then-Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean visited the Philippines from 31 January to 2 February.

  • Then-Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited the Philippines in November.