PBBM meets with Singapore’s President, Prime Minister

PH-SG TIES. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and Singapore on Friday (May 31, 2024). The two leaders held the bilateral meeting at the Istana in Singapore. (PCO Photo)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday met with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and Singapore.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, the two leaders held the bilateral meeting at the Istana in Singapore.

President Marcos also met with the city-state’s new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai.

No additional information on the top-level meetings has been provided as of posting time.

Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Singapore span for 55 years after the two nations formally established ties on May 16, 1969.

President Marcos will make a historic address on Friday night at the opening of the 21st edition of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier defense forum.

Marcos is the first Philippine leader to deliver a keynote message for the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, which will be held in Singapore from May 31, to June 2, 2024.

Marcos vowed to articulate in his message the legal and geopolitical position of the Philippines on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) before this year’s IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, as he cited the importance of the waterway to global trade and economy.

In a media interview in Brunei Darussalam before leaving for Singapore, the President said his keynote address to the defense meeting on Friday is highly important, pointing out the “invitation in itself is highly significant.”

The President’s visit to Singapore is upon the invitation of former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“The fact that they asked the Philippine President to come and speak on that very subject is significant in the sense that it is a recognition that there are challenges that are facing the Philippines, specifically,” President Marcos told reporters.

The defense gathering is putting together defense ministers, military leaders and senior defense officials, as well as business leaders and security experts from across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond to discuss critical security challenges.

Previous keynote speakers have included Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

More than 550 delegates from the defense and security establishments of more than 40 nations around the world are expected to attend the event, which will take place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.