MFA Press Statement: Official visit to Singapore of Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, 3-4 October 2013

The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop is on an official visit to Singapore from 3 – 4 October 2013 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam.  This is Minister Bishop’s introductory visit to Singapore as Foreign Minister.

Minister Bishop called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong this afternoon and was hosted to dinner by Minister Shanmugam.  During the meetings, Minister Bishop briefed Prime Minister Lee and Minister Shanmugam on the priorities and programmes of the new Australian Government.  Minister Bishop noted that Singapore and Australia shared similar strategic perspectives and reaffirmed the new Australian Government’s commitment to strengthening and deepening the already excellent bilateral relations between the two countries.  Minister Bishop noted that Singapore was the fourth largest investor in Australia and Australia’s fifth largest global trading partner in 2012.  The discussions focused on ways to further enhance bilateral cooperation, such as through trade and business engagement.  Both Prime Minister Lee and Minister Shanmugam warmly welcomed Australia’s proposal for Singapore to participate in the pilot programme of the New Colombo Plan initiated by Australia to foster closer education links and deepen its ties with Asia.  Aside from the discussions on bilateral relations, there was also an exchange of views on regional and international developments.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

3 OCTOBER 2013