On his state visit to Singapore, President Klaus Iohannis spoke with Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob about the various possibilities of boosting bilateral relations, particularly in terms of economy and investments, the Presidential Administration informs.
Iohannis highlighted Romania’s goal of increasing the activity of bilateral relations with the Republic of Singapore and marking a new stage of development, evoking at the same time a set of common objectives pursued by both presidents, such as inclusion policies, economic and social development and green transition.
The two heads of state discussed the results of the initiatives and actions carried out for the promotion of the information society and cybersecurity, education, gender equality, climate action and the green energy transition.
President Iohannis expressed special interest in giving new impetus to bilateral relations, in accordance with their potential, particularly economy- and investment-wise, the Presidential Administration said. In this context, the head of the state emphasized that Romania is seeking to attract Singaporean investments, stressing that Romania is the third largest EU supplier of IT services to Singapore. He also mentioned that Romania aims to deepen and amplify this cooperation tier by initiating new bilateral projects.
President Klaus Iohannis emphasized Romania’s expertise in cybersecurity, mentioning also that Bucharest hosts the European Cybersecurity Competence Center.
The head of the state presented the interconnection targets of the Three Seas Initiative and mentioned that this year he will host in Bucharest the Summit of this platform, along with the Business Forum. He called for the participation of representatives of the Singaporean business environment in the Initiative’s priority interconnection projects, reports Agerpres.
Against the backdrop of the global consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine, President Iohannis evoked Romania’s substantial and multidimensional support for Ukraine and its solidarity with Ukrainian citizens from the very first days of the conflict. He also presented Romania’s strong engagement in ensuring global food security by supporting the transit of Ukrainian grains and agricultural products to vulnerable consumers around the world.
„President Klaus Iohannis also conveyed Romania’s firm support for dialogue and constructive cooperation between the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in compliance with the Strategic Partnership concluded in 2020, and showed that our country remains a strong supporter of open markets and free trade, which are desiderata also shared by the Republic of Singapore”, the cited source mentions.
President of the Republic of Singapore Halimah Yacob emphasized the extremely important potential of the bilateral relationship amid Romania’s increasing role and importance in the European Union and NATO, as well as at regional level, including in the current geopolitical context generated by the effects of the war in Ukraine.
The president of Singapore highlighted the importance of increasing investment and bilateral trade, given the opportunities offered by sectors such as IT&C, cybersecurity and tourism.
The two heads of state agreed that Romania and Singapore have all the conditions in place to play the role of bridge between their two respective regions.
During his state visit, President Klaus Iohannis also held talks with Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. The president presented the steps to extend the capacity of the Black Sea Constanta port and mentioned the potential the port of Constanta and the Danube have for the connection between Europe and Asia.
President Iohannis stressed our country’s contribution to global food security by supporting the transit of Ukrainian grain and agricultural products to vulnerable consumers around the world. He also highlighted the objectives of the Three Seas Initiative Summit that Romania will host in September, as well as the security relevance of the Bucharest 9 Format, including as a platform for transatlantic consultation, recalling the recent meeting attended by the president of the United States of America, Joe Biden.
According to the source, the discussions also occasioned an exchange of views on the management of the impact of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, from a humanitarian, economic and food point of view, but also regarding the need to respect the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.
For his part, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed the convergence of positions and interests of the two states in the current geopolitical context and the importance of respecting the rules-based international order, with the UN Charter at its core.
The Singaporean prime minister also stressed the common goal of strengthening the bilateral relationship and expanding investment in sectors of common interest.
