Singapore – Telephone conversation between Jean-Yves Le Drian and Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (25 September 2020)

Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign affairs, spoke by phone with his Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, on September 25.

While France and Singapore are celebrating the 55th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations this year, the ministers welcomed our excellent strategic partnership in the areas of innovation, scientific research and cooperation, attractiveness and defense. Our cooperation in the area of health and with respect to digital and artificial intelligence issues reflects this dynamism.

France and Singapore are fully committed to multilateralism based on respect for the rules of international law and share the same goals in terms of international cooperation aimed at responding to the health, economic and political challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The participation by both ministers today in the meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism reflects this commitment. They also welcomed the presence, for the third consecutive year, of Singapore in the upcoming Paris Peace Forum through a data protection project.

Lastly, in accordance with France’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific region, the minister reaffirmed our determination to further invest in Southeast Asia, particularly within the framework of ASEAN, which has just accepted our candidacy for the status of development partner.