Strong Singapore-Australia Ties Underpinned by Continually Renewed Bonds: President

Both nations cooperate across a range of sectors, uphold rules-based trading system

- Sue-Ann Tan

In a world that is increasingly turbulent, Singapore and Australia are working closely together across a range of sectors, from defence and education, to culture and sports, and to uphold an open, rules-based trading system globally, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Aug 4.

Underpinning this strong partnership is a long shared history, and bonds between both countries and their people that are lived, felt and continually renewed, he added.

He was speaking at a state banquet held to host Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn, whose state visit from Aug 3 to 6 marks Singapore's 60th year of independence and commemorates the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Singapore-Australia diplomatic relations.

Ms Mostyn separately met Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and affirmed the strong people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

They also spoke about the importance of the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), which was established in 2015 and serves as a broad-ranging agreement to deepen Singapore's collaboration with Australia.

To date, the partnership has seen more than 110 completed initiatives across six pillars comprising economics and trade, defence and foreign affairs, science and innovation, people-to-people ties, the digital economy, and the green economy.

Ms Mostyn and PM Wong said they look forward to the upgrade of the CSP later in 2025 when PM Wong visits Australia. The upgraded CSP will see deepened bilateral cooperation in areas such as defence, supply chain resilience, renewable energy, and cyber and critical technologies.

PM Wong said in a Facebook post: "Our strong and enduring partnership is anchored on shared perspectives and deep mutual trust."

He added that he looks forward to taking the partnership to the next level when he visits Australia later in 2025.