SINGAPORE - Singapore is charting new frontiers, and will be opening diplomatic missions in Africa and Latin America over the next few years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has also established a new Development Partnership Unit to coordinate efforts across agencies, strengthen collaborations, and focus on areas where Singapore can make a meaningful impact globally, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on April 16.

He outlined steps Singapore will take to navigate an increasingly fragmented and turbulent world. This comes amid the ongoing trade war between the United States and China triggered by US President Donald Trump’s imposition of sweeping tariffs on most of the world’s countries, including Singapore.

The Republic will move forward in three key areas: it will contribute actively to the stewardship of the global commons, champion deeper regional cohesion and integration, and strengthen its global network of partnerships, said PM Wong.

He was speaking at the S Rajaratnam lecture held at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) Auditorium.  It was attended by over 900 guests including political office holders, senior government officials and students.

He noted that Singapore currently has only two diplomatic missions serving the entire continent of Africa - in Cairo, Egypt and Pretoria, South Africa - and only one in Latin America.

This, he said, is insufficient. So Singapore is reaching out to new frontiers there, as well as the Middle East.

The Republic will step up efforts to develop ties with Africa and Latin America, regions “brimming with potential”, but which the nation has not fully engaged due to distance or unfamiliarity.

“We hope that this will show our friends in Africa and Latin America that Singapore is keen to do more – to trade, invest and partner with them for mutual benefit,” he said.

As for the Middle East, the Gulf countries there are growing rapidly, and positioning themselves as key geopolitical players in their own right.

Singapore, which has a Comprehensive Partnership with the UAE, has just upgraded its relations with Saudi Arabia to a Strategic Partnership. It has also institutionalised dialogues with Qatar and Oman, and will do more not just with the Gulf countries but also other Middle Eastern partners.

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