Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke with his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga over the phone on Thursday to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two countries. Both leaders exchanged views about COVID-19 response efforts as well as regional developments, including the importance of greater economic integration through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) involving 16 countries.
The RCEP aims to establish common rules for e-commerce, trade, and intellectual property and allow businesses to benefit from the enhanced integration of regional trade networks. Japan is hoping to play an important role in getting the agreement signed by the end of this year. A virtual ministerial-level meeting took place on October 14 to discuss the way forward for the negotiations.
During their 15-minute conversation, Mr. Lee congratulated Mr. Suga on his appointment as Japan’s 99th Prime Minister after Shinzo Abe and expressed hope that they could meet in person soon. The officials also reaffirmed “excellent relations” between them as they welcomed the resumption of travel between the two countries through the Singapore-Japan Business and Residence Tracks. The Business Track, also known as the Reciprocal Green Lane, was launched on September 18 to facilitate essential business and official travel between two nations. The Residence Track travel arrangement, which opened for applications two weeks later on September 30, is for business executives and professionals with work passes. The initiatives are aimed at helping restore connectivity as well as support economic recovery in both Japan and Singapore since both nations are trade-dependent economies, and the steep drop in the demand for consumer goods (as demonstrated by low levels of exports in both countries) due to the COVID-19 pandemic will likely take some time to recover.
“Singapore and Japan are like-minded partners enjoying a longstanding close relationship,” PM Lee said, adding that he looked forward to working with Suga to “deepen bilateral cooperation” including in new areas such as vaccine multilateralism, third-country infrastructure cooperation, and preparing for the digital economy. The countries already hold strong economic ties: In 2019, Japan was Singapore’s 7th largest trading partner. As of end-2018, Japan was Singapore’s 3rd largest investor, while Singapore was Japan’s top Asian and 4th largest foreign direct investor.
Among the biggest contributors to Singaporean exports to Japan are electrical and electronic equipment, and machinery. Japan too, exports a great deal of electrical machinery to Singapore, alongside transport equipment and vehicles. The two economies have been hit hard by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and it is hoped that the latest talks between the two countries will set them on the path to recovery.
During their conversation, PM Suga also told PM Lee that Singapore was a crucial partner to advance its “free and open Indo-Pacific” vision, and the leaders agreed to cooperate on issues such as the South China Sea and North Korea. Suga conducted his first overseas trip as PM earlier this month to strengthen bilateral security and defense cooperation with Indonesia and Vietnam, which Japan also considers key players for ensuring peace and stability in the region, amidst increasing Chinese assertiveness.
Singapore, Japan Discuss Avenues for Strengthened Bilateral Cooperation
Both leaders exchanged views about COVID-19 response efforts as well as regional developments, including the importance of greater economic integration through the RCEP.
October 30, 2020
Singapore PM Lee Hsein Loong (L) and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga (R). SOURCE: THE STRAITS TIMES