Singapore welcomes deeper US engagement in Asia-Pacific, says Vivian Balakishnan

Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, on his four-day visit to Washington that ended on Wednesday (Sept 29), told officials he met that Singapore welcomed deeper United States engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and they discussed ways to enhance cooperation.

Dr Balakrisnan met US members of Congress and Biden administration officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement.

The minister also had meetings on Capitol Hill on Monday and Tuesday with other top officials, including with Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez and ranking member Jim Risch.

Dr Balakrishnan also met co-chairs of the Congressional Singapore Caucus, Representatives Rick Larsen and David Schweikert.

“In his meetings with members of Congress and Biden administration officials, Minister Balakrishnan welcomed deeper US engagement of the Asia-Pacific region and discussed ways to enhance cooperation, especially in areas such as the digital economy, cybersecurity, smart cities, green economy and sustainable infrastructure,” MFA said.

“The members of Congress affirmed the excellent and longstanding ties between Singapore and the US, which remains the largest foreign investor and a major trading partner of Singapore.

“They expressed appreciation for our broad-based and steadfast partnership as we celebrate the 55th anniversary of bilateral relations this year,” the statement added.

Dr Balakrishnan was slated to meet Mr Ami Bera, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Sub-committee on Asia, The Pacific, Central Asia and Non-proliferation, on Wednesday, before leaving for Singapore.