October 9, 2024
SINGAPORE – In a troubled world, partnerships between like-minded countries are more important than ever, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and in that vein, Singapore and South Korea are deepening and widening their relationship in areas from start-ups to food safety.
Both will work towards upgrading ties to a strategic partnership in 2025.
It will be a timely milestone, marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, PM Wong said at a joint press conference with visiting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct 8.
“The upgrade is not just a change in name, it also means more substantial cooperation,” said PM Wong.
For one thing, the two countries are looking to upgrade the Korea-Singapore Free Trade Agreement to better meet the needs of their economies in today’s digital age, he said.
The trade pact, which eliminates more than 90 per cent of tariffs for Singapore’s exports to South Korea, entered into force in March 2006. It covers goods such as motor vehicles, mechanical equipment and minerals.
Both sides also hope to expand an existing air services agreement to ride on the strong demand for air travel.
This agreement was last expanded in November 2019 to allow more flights between Singapore and South Korea, and more connections through third countries.
Singapore and South Korea are also discussing ways to widen cooperation in areas such as defence, education, climate change, artificial intelligence, cyber security and the digital economy.
“I look forward to making substantial progress on all of these issues in the coming months,” said PM Wong.
“I am confident that the bilateral cooperation between Korea and Singapore will continue to grow from strength to strength. And I look forward to working closely with President Yoon to take our bilateral ties to greater heights,” he added.
Mr Yoon, who was received by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at a ceremonial welcome at Parliament House on Oct 8, called the planned upgrade in relations “the first step in preparing for the next 50 years”.
Singapore and South Korea established diplomatic ties in 1975.
President Yoon said both countries had limited resources but overcame the disadvantage by nurturing talent and establishing hubs for advanced technology and finance. This has allowed them to “leap forward to become global economic powers”, he said.
“Koreans regard Singapore as a companion with whom we have strived together towards national development over the past half-century, and a key partner with whom we will pioneer the future,” he added.
During the press conference at Parliament House, President Yoon and PM Wong witnessed the exchange of five memorandums of understanding, covering supply chain, food safety, liquefied natural gas, small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, as well as technology.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after their press conference at Parliament House on Oct 8. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
They also presided over the signing of an extradition treaty between Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam and South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul.
Mr Yoon welcomed the treaty, saying it will allow both countries to reinforce judicial cooperation so that fugitive criminals can be “swiftly investigated, arrested and transferred”.
Mr Yoon and PM Wong also discussed South Korea’s relations with Asean before their planned travels to Laos to attend Asean meetings later in the week.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of Asean-Korea dialogue relations. The two sides are set to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership in Laos.
PM Wong said he and Mr Yoon discussed ways of strengthening Asean-Korea ties, such as by upgrading the Asean-Korea FTA and concluding the Asean-Korea Air Services Agreement.
“Singapore appreciates Korea’s support for Asean’s digital transformation through its Asean-Korea Digital Innovation Flagship project, which will help to unlock new opportunities for the digital economy,” he said.
The two leaders also discussed the situation in North Korea, which has in recent months strengthened ties with Russia and China.
PM Wong said Singapore, which hosted the historic 2018 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump, wants to see a peaceful and stable Korean peninsula and “will do what we can do to facilitate efforts towards this end”.
President Yoon said he and PM Wong share the view that North Korea’s nuclear development programme “will never be tolerated by the international community”, and they will make sure to “issue a clear, united message” to the North during the upcoming Asean summit.
“Prime Minister Wong and I are committed to addressing regional matters and global issues in close consultation,” said Mr Yoon.
Mr Yoon, who is on his first state visit to Singapore as South Korea’s president, arrived here on Oct 7 from Manila, where he held a summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Mr Yoon leaves for Laos on Oct 9.
On Oct 8, Mr Yoon and his wife, First Lady Kim Keon Hee, were hosted to lunch by PM Wong and Mrs Wong at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Mr Yoon and his wife also had an orchid named in their honour, the rose pink Dendrobium Yoon Suk Yeol Kim Keon Hee.
President Tharman and Mrs Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam on the evening of Oct 8 hosted a state banquet at The Fullerton Hotel for Mr Yoon and his wife, who wore a hanbok, a traditional Korean costume.
On the menu were grilled pork satay, Korean red chilli paste gochujang, crab meat bun and nyonya fish curry served with ddeok, or Korean rice cakes.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse, Ms Jane Ittogi, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his spouse, Ms Kim Keon Hee, arriving for the state banquet. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
During his welcome speech, Mr Tharman said Mr Yoon’s visit “reaffirms the warm and enduring friendship between our two nations”.
He lauded the strong economic partnership between the two countries – both are each other’s seventh-largest trade partner – and added that “together, we are also helping set new standards for open, efficient, and inclusive digital trade”.
Meanwhile, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Mr Yoon reaffirmed the robust economic and people-to-people ties between both countries when they met on Oct 8. They also exchanged views on regional and international developments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement.
SM Lee welcomed South Korea’s deepened engagement of Asean and its support for Asean centrality.
SM Lee and Mr Yoon agreed on Singapore’s and South Korea’s shared interests in supporting the multilateral trading system and the rules-based international order.
They also agreed on the potential for Asean and South Korea to do more in areas such as trade, connectivity, digitalisation, food security and the green transition.