Singapore always looking to improve external ties: PM Wong

Upgraded partnerships with Australia and NZ based on scope for deeper cooperation

- Anjali Raguraman Correspondent

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at a media wrap-up in Auckland on Oct 10. He said Singapore's Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships with Australia and New Zealand have set ambitious agendas for the next 10 years.

(ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI)

Singapore is always looking to improve its ties with other countries, and where there is scope to deepen cooperation, it will look to elevate diplomatic ties to a higher level, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

The Republic takes its partnerships with other countries very seriously, and when it raises ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), it makes sure there is substance in the relationship, he told Singapore media in a wrap-up interview on Oct 10, at the tail end of a six-day visit to Australia and New Zealand.

The trip, which concluded on Oct 11, saw Singapore upgrade its ties with both countries from a CSP to a CSP 2.0 with Australia, and from an Enhanced Partnership to a CSP with New Zealand.

CSPs are high-level and broad-ranging diplomatic relations. Other countries that Singapore has such partnerships with are France, India and Vietnam.