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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Statements

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s Meeting With Secretary of State of the United States Antony J. Blinken, 27 September 2021

Country

United States

28 September 2021

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan is on a working visit to Washington D.C. and met Secretary of State of the United States Antony J. Blinken. Minister Balakrish...

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          Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan is on a working visit to Washington D.C. and met Secretary of State of the United States Antony J. Blinken.

          Minister Balakrishnan and Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the excellent and longstanding ties between Singapore and the US on the 55th anniversary of bilateral relations this year. Both sides noted the robust cooperation across the defence, economic and security spheres, and welcomed the expansion of cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity, supply chain resilience, global growth and innovation, climate change and space.

         Minister Balakrishnan and Secretary Blinken had substantive discussions on regional and international developments. Minister Balakrishnan welcomed the US’ commitment to deepen engagement with the region and ASEAN, and looked forward to Secretary Blinken making a visit to Singapore.

          Minister Balakrishnan and Secretary Blinken signed a Memorandum of Understanding to renew the Singapore-US Third Country Training Programme (TCTP). This fourth cycle of the Singapore-US TCTP celebrates a decade of successful partnership between Singapore and the US. Since its establishment, the Singapore-US TCTP has trained more than 1,500 participants from Southeast Asia in over 57 programmes. Both sides have agreed to strengthen capacity building collaboration on climate change and environmental sustainability. The Singapore-US TCTP is a concrete example of the excellent cooperation between Singapore and the US towards advancing the development agenda of the region. A factsheet on the Singapore-US TCTP is at Annex.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

28 SEPTEMBER 2021

Annex

SINGAPORE-UNITED STATES

THIRD COUNTRY TRAINING PROGRAMME (TCTP)

        Singapore and the United States will renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Singapore-United States Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) during a signing ceremony on 27 September 2021 between Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Secretary of State of the United States Antony J. Blinken.

2        The TCTP was established in 2012 following an MOU signed between then-Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs K. Shanmugam and then-Secretary of State of the United States Hillary Clinton. The MOU has been renewed twice, in 2015 and 2018. To date, over 50 Singapore and United States agencies have jointly conductedmore than 57 programmes ranging from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, cybercrime, public health, trade facilitation, and smart cities to the digital economy, for over 1,500 participants from ASEAN Member States, Timor-Leste and the ASEAN Secretariat.

3        The renewed MOU celebrates a decade of successful partnership between Singapore and the United States under the TCTP. Both sides will strengthencapacity building collaboration on climate change and environmentalsustainability in the region,including through twosmart cities programmes announcedduringVice President of the United States of America Kamala Harris’ visit to Singapore in August 2021.

4        The Singapore-US TCTP is one of several technical cooperation partnerships under the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP), Singapore’s primary platform for sharing our development experiences and expertise with other countries.  Established in 1992, the SCP has trained over 132,000 participants from 180 countries and territories as well as international and regional organisations. The SCP will mark its 30th anniversary in 2022. 

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Woman in a purple jacket at a table with "SINGAPORE" displayed and a Singapore flag.

Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Photo caption: Singapore-US Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) Memorandum of Understanding Signing by Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on 27 September 2021


People sit at a long table labeled with countries: South Africa, Singapore, and San Marino.

Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Photo caption: Singapore-US Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) Memorandum of Understanding Signing by Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on 27 September 2021

Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Photo caption: Singapore-US Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) Memorandum of Understanding Signing by Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on 27 September 2021


Antony Blinken and Retno Marsudi in suits and face masks talking indoors.

Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Photo caption: Meeting between Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on 27 September 2021


Antony Blinken & PM Lee Hsien Loong shaking hands; both wear face coverings.

Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Photo caption: Meeting between Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on 27 September 2021


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