Singapore has good relations with the countries of Europe and with the European Union. There is a steady stream of visits by Leaders, Ministers, MPs and Officials on both sides. Through a network of resident Embassies, non-resident Ambassadors and Honorary Consuls-General, Singapore maintains its links with most European countries. In recent years, Singapore has also looked into deepening our relations with the Central and Eastern European countries. Singapore also engages Europe through the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process, which was first initiated in 1996.

Singapore, as ASEAN Chair, also hosted the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit (AECS) on 22 November 2007. The AECS was held back-to-back with the ASEAN Summit and marked the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-EU relations.

A key pillar of Singapore's relations with Europe has traditionally been economic cooperation. Singapore acts as the hub for European business in the Asia-Pacific region. The German Centre for Industry and Trade, the German-Singapore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Singapore-British Business Council and the France-Singapore Business Council have been established to help European small and medium enterprises start-up their operations in Singapore and the region. A key event this year is the 12th Asia Pacific Conference of German Business (APK), which will be held in Singapore from 13-15 May 2010. There are more than 7,300 European companies in Singapore. Many use Singapore as regional headquarters, logistics and distribution centre for the region. Collectively, the EU is Singapore's largest foreign investor and global trading partner. The launch of the EU-Singapore FTA negotiations in March 2010 is another step forward in Singapore-EU relations. The Singapore-EU FTA would provide another institutional platform for deeper economic engagement between Singapore and the EU.

As long standing partners, Singapore and Europe have also engaged in numerous other areas of collaboration, including arts and culture, research & development, education, health, technical cooperation in third countries, as well as in fields of mutual interest, such as security issues, energy and climate change. For instance, “Encore! The European Season” which showcases numerous arts and cultural events will run from May to December 2008 in Singapore. Separately, as part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Singapore and Russia, a cultural-business extravaganza Spotlight Singapore in Moscow was held in Moscow in June 2008 with a range of programmes spanning the arts and business. The Government-to-Government Agreement on Cultural Cooperation concluded with France in 2009 has also borne fruit. ˇ°Christian Lacroix the Costumierˇ± exhibition was held at the National Museum of Singapore from 20 March to 7 June 2009 and the ˇ°Singapore Showcaseˇ± will start in Paris on 4 October 2010.

In addition, the European community in Singapore are well-integrated into the community and their many contributions add to the cosmopolitan nature of the country. Singapore also plays host to organisations such as the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEM’s only permanent institution), the Goethe-Institut, Italian Cultural Institute, Alliance Française de Singapour and the British Council. 

Recent Bilateral Highlights

Incoming Visits

2009

• Mr Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, November 2009
• Madam Christine Lagarde, French Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment of the French Republic, November 2009
• Mr Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister, Kingdom of Denmark, November 2009
• Mr Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister, Republic of Finland, November 2009
• Mr Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister, accompanied by Dr Ronald Plasterk, Minister of Culture, Education and Science and Mrs Maria van der Hoeven, Minister of Economic Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands, October 2009
• Mr Luc Frieden, Minister for Finance, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, October 2009
• Mr Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, September 2009
• Mr Yves Leterme, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Belgium, August 2009
• HRH Prince Willem-Alexander, Kingdom of the Netherlands, June 2009
• State visit of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of the Kingdom of Spain, June 2009
• Dr Ab Klink, Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, Kingdom of the Netherlands, May 2009
• Milo Djukanovic, Prime Minister of Montenegro, May 2009
• Mr Luis Amado, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese Republic, February 2009
• Mr Maxime Verhagen, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands, January 2009

2008

• Dr Peter Altmaier, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, December 2008
• HRH Prince Philippe, Kingdom of Belgium, November 2008
• Mr Jan Björklund, Minister of Education, Kingdom of Sweden, November 2008
• Ms Guusje ter Horst, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Kingdom of the Netherlands, September 2008
• Dr László Sólyom, President, Republic of Hungary, May 2008
• HSH Prince Albert II, Principality of Monaco, April 2008
• Ms Tarja Halonen, President,  Republic of Finland, February 2008
• Mr Binali Yildirim, Minister of Transport and Communications, Republic of Turkey, February 2008
• Ms Viviane Reding, Commissioner of Information, Society and Media, European Commission, June 2008
• Mrs Valérie Pécresse, Minister of Higher Education and Research, French Republic, June 2008
• Mr Karel de Gucht, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kingdom of Belgium, June 2008
• Mr Hervé Morin, Minister of Defence, French Republic, May to June 2008
• Mr Christian Schmidt, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry of Defence, Federal Republic of Germany, May to  June 2008
• Mr Oleksandr Kupchyshyn, Deputy Foreign Minister, Ukraine, May 2008
• Mr Sergey Naryshkin, Deputy Prime Minister, Russian Federation, March to April 2008
• Dr Martin Bartenstein, Federal Minister for Economics and Labour, Republic of Austria, March 2008
• Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Germany, February 2008.
• Mrs Meritxell Mateu Pi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Principality of Andorra, February 2008
• Mr Mikhail Margelov, Chairman, Committee for Foreign Affairs, Federal Council of Russia, March to April 2008 and May 2008
• Mr Jean-François Copé, leader of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) Parliamentary group in the National Assembly, former Minister of  Budget and State Reform, French Republic, March 2008
• Dr Norman Lammert, President of Bundestag (Parliament), Federal Republic of Germany, January 2008
• Mr Ruprecht Polenz, Chairman of the Bundestag’s (Parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee, Federal Republic of Germany, January 2008

Outgoing Visits

2009

• Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stopover in Paris in December 2009
• Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister S Jayakumar and Minister (The Environment and Water Resources) Yaacob Ibrahim visited Denmark in December 2009
• Minister (Trade & Industry) Lim Hng Kiang visited the Federal Republic of Germany in December 2009
• Minister (Finance) Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited the United Kingdom in November 2009
• Minister (Transport)/2Minister Raymond Lim visited the United Kindgom in November 2009
• Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made a stopover in London in November 2009
• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister (Defence) Teo Chee Hean visited Denmark in October 2009
• Minister (National Development) Mah Bow Tan visited the Federal Republic of Germany in October 2009
• Minister (Prime Minister's Office) Lim Hwee Hua visited the Italian Republic in October 2009.
• Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security S.Jayakumar visited Republic of Turkey in September 2009
• Minister (Education) Dr Ng Eng Hen visited Finland in September 2009
• Minister (Transport) Raymond Lim visited Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden in September 2009
• Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew visited the United Kingdom in September 2009
• Minister (The Environment and Water Resources) Yaacob Ibrahim visited Denmark in June-July 2009
• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister (Defence) Teo Chee Hean visited Sweden in June 2009
• Minister (Transport) Raymond Lim visited Norway in June 2009
• President S R Nathan visited Republic of Turkey in June 2009
• Minister (Education) and Second Minister (Defence) Dr Ng Eng Hen visited the Federal Republic of Germany in April and May 2009
• Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong visited Italy in April 2009.
• Minister (Environment and Water Resources) Mr Yaacob Ibrahim visited Republic of Turkey in March 2009
• Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo visited the Russian Federation in March 2009
• DPM and Minister (Defence) Teo Chee Hean visited the Federal Republic of Germany in February 2009
• Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew visited the Russian Federation in September 2009
• Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew visited the Republic of Armenia in September 2009
• Parliamentary Exchange Visit led by Mayor Zainudin Nordin to the French Republic in October 2009
• France-Singapore Inaugural Seminar held in the French Republic in October 2009

2008

• Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong visited the French Republic and the Swiss Confederation in January 2008
• Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew visited Russia in June 2008
• Minister of State (Defence) Associate Professor Koo Tsai Kee visited the United Kingdom in July 2008
• Minister (National Development) Mr Mah Bow Tan visited the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Sweden in June 2008
• Minister (Information, Communications and the Arts) Mr Lee Boon Yang visited the Kingdom of  Denmark in June 2008
• MOS (Trade and Industry) Mr Lee Yi Shyan visited Russia in June 2008
• MOS (Prime Minister's Office) Heng Chee How visited Finland and the Netherlands in May 2008
• Minister (Education) Dr Ng Eng Hen visited the United Kingdom in May 2008
• SMS (Trade and Industry) Mr S Iswaran visited the Principality of Monaco in May 2008
• Minister (Transport) and 2nd Minister (Foreign Affairs) Mr Raymond Lim visited the Kingdom of Spain, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kingdom of Netherlands in April 2008
• Speaker of Parliament Mr Abdullah Tarmugi visited the Republic of Turkey from April to May 2008
• Minister (Defence) Mr Teo Chee Hean visited the French Republic from March to April 2008
• Minister (Foreign Affairs) Mr George Yeo visited the Republic of Austria, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in April 2008
• Minister (Defence) Mr Teo Chee Hean visited the Federal Republic of Germany in February 2008