Visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to the State of Qatar, 16 to 17 September 2026

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan made a working visit to the State of Qatar from 16 to 17 September 2026. Minister Balakrishnan was accompanied by Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim.

Minister Balakrishnan met Qatar Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. During their meetings, they discussed a range of issues, including opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation and both countries’ shared commitment to uphold a rules-based international order.

During the visit, Minister Balakrishnan co-chaired the third iteration of the Qatar–Singapore Implementation Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) with Qatar Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan Bin Saad Al Muraikhi on 16 September 2026. The co-chairs welcomed the growing momentum of bilateral cooperation since the last IMM Meeting in August 2019 and reaffirmed the importance of the IMM as a key platform for engagement under the framework of the Qatar–Singapore High-Level Joint Committee.

The co-chairs reviewed the progress of bilateral initiatives within the six Technical Working Committees under the purview of the IMM, which covered the areas of Information and Communications Technology, Security, Business, Legal, Sustainability and Social Development. At the close of the meeting, the co-chairs endorsed the Joint Statement on the Third IMM Meeting at ANNEX.

.     .     .     .     .

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

17 SEPTEMBER 2026

ANNEX

JOINT STATEMENT ON THE THIRD MEETING OF THE QATAR–SINGAPORE IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING MECHANISM IN DOHA, QATAR

16 SEPTEMBER 2026

1.        The Implementation Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) of the Qatar–Singapore High-Level Joint Committee (HLJC) held its third meeting on 16 September 2026 in Doha, Qatar.

2.        The meeting was co-chaired by His Excellency Sultan Bin Saad Al Muraikhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, and His Excellency Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, with the participation of His Excellency Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Republic of Singapore.

3.        The co-chairs reaffirmed the warm and longstanding relations as well as the growing cooperation between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Singapore. They welcomed the exchange of high-level visits, including the State Visit by Her Excellency Halimah Yacob, then-President of the Republic of Singapore, to Qatar in June 2023 and the visit by His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, to Singapore in August 2023. More recently, His Excellency K Shanmugam, Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, and His Excellency Dr Vivian Balakrishnan made separate working visits to Qatar in February and May 2026 respectively. His Excellency Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs of the State of Qatar, and His Excellency Dr Ali Bin Saeed Al Marri, Minister of Labour of the State of Qatar, also made separate visits to Singapore in May and July 2026 respectively.

4.        The Singaporean side reiterated its condolences on the passing of His Highness the late Father Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, and recalled his distinguished contributions to bilateral relations, most notably the establishment of the HLJC in 2006.

5.        The co-chairs reaffirmed the importance of the HLJC as the main platform for providing strategic direction to bilateral relations, while underscoring the value of the IMM in facilitating regular follow-up and translating key decisions and agreements into practical outcomes.

6.         The co-chairs reviewed the cooperation within the six Technical Working Committees (TWCs) established under the IMM in the areas of Information and Communications Technology, Security, Business, Legal, Sustainability and Social Development. They welcomed the good progress made since the second IMM in Singapore in August 2019 and encouraged the relevant agencies on both sides to accelerate their efforts to ensure a substantive slate of deliverables in areas such as energy resilience and sustainable development for the upcoming Official Visit of His Excellency Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, to Qatar in October 2026 and the State Visit of His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, to Singapore in the near future.

7.        The co-chairs agreed on the importance of elevating cooperation between Singapore and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), including through an upgrade of the existing GCC–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA).  They welcomed Qatar’s admission as an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner in July 2026 and looked forward to the upcoming ASEAN–GCC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be held on the sidelines of the 81^st Session of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York City in September 2026, which will be co-chaired by Singapore as ASEAN’s coordinator for ASEAN–GCC relations and Bahrain as the GCC President. Both sides looked forward to enhancing trade and investment flows between ASEAN and the GCC, including through the ongoing discussions on an ASEAN–GCC FTA as called for in the ASEAN–GCC Joint Declaration on Economic Cooperation adopted at the second ASEAN–GCC Summit in May 2025. Both sides also looked forward to strengthening cooperation between their respective regions at the third ASEAN–GCC Summit during Singapore’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2027.

8.        The co-chairs expressed serious concern over the situation in the Middle East, particularly the renewed hostilities involving the US and Iran. They underscored the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in achieving a peaceful and lasting resolution to the conflict, and commended Qatar’s sustained diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation in the region. The co-chairs also expressed concern over continued threats to maritime security and international shipping in the region, including attacks by the Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, which have disrupted trade and threatened the safety and freedom of navigation. They agreed that navigational rights and freedoms must be respected and upheld in accordance with international law as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the safety of seafarers and ships must be ensured in accordance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). In this regard, they also underscored the importance of restoring safe, unimpeded and continuous transit passage of vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz, a Strait Used for International Navigation.

9.        The co-chairs noted the common interests and perspectives that Singapore and Qatar share as fellow small states, including through their active participation in the Forum of Small States (FOSS) and the Global Governance Group (3G). Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to being active, responsible, and constructive members of the international community, and to uphold a rules-based international order and an open multilateral trading system.

10.     At the close of the meeting, the co-chairs expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved and agreed to follow up on the implementation of the outcomes of the third meeting of the IMM through diplomatic channels and the respective TWCs. Both sides agreed for the fourth meeting of the IMM to be held in Singapore in 2027.

.     .     .     .     .