List of international prime ministerial trips made by Lawrence Wong
This is a list of international prime ministerial trips made by Lawrence Wong, the 4th Prime Minister of Singapore.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who took the office of Prime Minister of Singapore on 15 May 2024, made his first prime ministerial trip to meet with his counter-part Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah on 11 June 2024 at Bandar Seri Begawan.[1] As of November 2024, Wong has made 6 international trips to 7 countries since becoming Prime Minister.
By convention, the Prime Minister of Singapore does not usually attend the UN General Assembly or the COP Summits and instead is represented by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment respectively.
Singapore is not an official member of G20, however, it has been regularly invited to all G20 Summits from 2010, with the exception of the 2012 Summit.
Summary
[edit]The number of visits per country where Prime Minister Wong traveled are:
2024
[edit]# | Country | Locations | Dates | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brunei | Bandar Seri Begawan | June 11 | Introductory visit to Brunei as Prime Minister. Met separately with Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah and His Royal Highness Senior Minister Al-Muhtadee Billah together with Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah.[2] |
Malaysia | Putrajaya | June 12 | Introductory visit to Malaysia as Prime Minister. Met with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, underscored their shared commitment to take Singapore and Malaysia mutually beneficial partnership forward, and noted the steady progress on win-win projects like the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link and the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone. Both Prime Minister Wong and Prime Minister Anwar looked forward to convening the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat in Malaysia later this year. Prime Minister Wong also expressed Singapore's full support for Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship next year. Prime Minister Wong also met Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof where both sides discussed ways to expand cooperation in various domains like sustainable development, renewable energy, and people-to-people exchanges.[3] | |
2 | Laos | Vientiane | 9-12 October | Attended 44th & 45th ASEAN Summits, first as Singapore PM. Prime Minister Wong also attended the East Asia Summit and other related summits. Trip also considered as Introductory Visit to Laos. Prime Minister Wong held a bilateral meeting with and was hosted to dinner by Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. A new Leadership and Governance Training Programme for senior Lao officials was announced during the dinner along with Scoot’s increase of flights from Singapore to Vientiane from December 2024. Prime Minister Wong also called on Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith. Prime Minister Wong also held bilateral meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines.[4] |
3 | Indonesia | Jakarta | 20 October | Attended Prabowo Subianto's inauguration as President of Indonesia, offered personal congratulations to Prabowo. The visit reaffirmed importance of Singapore-Indonesia relationship and commitment to further substantive strengthen bilateral ties including in key priority areas discussed at the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat in April 2024. [5][6] |
4 | Samoa | Apia | 23-26 October | PM Wong led the Singapore delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Apia, Samoa. This was his first CHOGM in his capacity as Prime Minister. PM Wong and other leaders reviwed developments in the Commonwealth and discussed salient global issues, including climate change and building resilient economies. PM Wong also held bilateral meetings with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of CHOGM. PM Wong also attended a reception hosted by His Majesty King Charles for new Commonwealth Leaders. PM Wong was accompanied by Mrs Wong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.[7][8] |
5 | Indonesia | Jakarta | 5-6 November | Introductory Visit to Indonesia as Prime Minister. Prime Minister Wong met President Prabowo Subianto, Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Ahmad Muzani and Speaker of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) Sultan Bachtair Najamudin. The visit reaffirmed the close friendship between the two countries, as well as their shared commitment to building resilience amidst an uncertain geopolitical environment. Both leaders looked forward to convening the 8th Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat in Singapore in 2025, which would be the first between both leaders. Both Wong and President Prabowo commended the significant progress in bilateral cooperation in the emerging priority area of the green economy. They also discussed ways to expand cooperation in other priority areas of human capital development, people-to-people exchanges and food security. During his meetings with Vice President Gibran and the Speakers, both sides acknowledged the excellent state of bilateral relations, and looked forward to strengthening mutually beneficial areas of bilateral cooperation.[9] |
6 | Peru | Lima | 14-16 November | Led Singapore’s Delegation to the APEC Peru 2024 Summit, accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and discussed on the global economic outlook, managing the challenges ahead - such as rising protectionism, supply chain disruption and climate change. Held bilateral meetings with Peru President Dina Boluarte, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Taiwan Representative Lin Hsin-i on the sidelines. |
Brazil | Rio de Janeiro | 17-20 November | Led Singapore's delegation to the 2024 G20 Rio de Janeiro summit. Wong had a conversation with South African Cyril Ramaphosa[10]. Wong met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, where they announced the upgrade of bilateral relations to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" in 2025 and where Wong indicated he looked forward to visiting Vietnam next year.[11] Wong, together with Pham also met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto together as a group, demonstrating the "ASEAN spirit".[12] Wong met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, where both Scholz and Wong announced the upgrade of the Singapore-Germany relations to a Strategic Partnership in lieu of the 60th anniversary of Singapore-German relations in 2025.[13] Wong also met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines.[14] Wong also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan as well as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Wong also made a telephone call with President-elect Donald Trump on the sidelines and congratulated him on his election victory.[15] Wong also joined other leaders such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, World Bank President Ajay Banga and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at the launch of a "Declaration on Digital Public Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance".[16] |
Future trips
[edit]Country | Locations | Dates | Details |
---|---|---|---|
Thailand | Bangkok | TBC, 2024 | Part of his introductory visits to ASEAN Capitals, expressed hope to cover Thailand as part of visits in 2024.[17] |
Malaysia | Putrajaya | TBC, 2024 | Confirmed to be visiting Malaysia for the 11th Singapore-Malaysia Annual Leaders' Retreat in the second half of 2024, expected to be after his Introductory Visit to Thailand. [18] |
Vietnam | Hanoi | TBC, 2025 | Expected to visit Vietnam in 2025 for his introductory visit to ASEAN Capitals. Trip was confirmed during his recent trip to Brazil for the G20.[19] |
Malaysia | TBC | TBC, 2025 | Expected to visit Malaysia again in 2025 in April/May and October/November for the 46th and 47th ASEAN Summits respectively to be hosted by Malaysia. |
United Kingdom | London | TBC, 2025 | Possible visit to the United Kingdom in 2025 to commemorate the 60th year of Singapore-United Kingdom relations, with a possible visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in return.[20] |
Germany | Berlin | TBC, 2025 | Possible visit to Germany in 2025 to commemorate 60 years of Singapore-German bilateral relations - similar to UK, India and Thailand. |
India | New Delhi | TBC, 2025 | Possible visit to India in 2025 to commemorate 60 years of Singapore-India relations, as mentioned in his Press Conference on 8 November. |
Thailand | Bangkok | TBC, 2025 | Possible visit to Thailand in 2025 to commemorate 60 years of Singapore-Thai relations - similar to UK, India and Germany. |
South Africa | Johannesburg | 27-28 November 2025 | Expected to lead Singapore’s delegation to South Africa in November 2025[21] for the G20 Summit - if invited. |
South Korea | Gyeongju | November 2025 | Expected to visit Gyeongju in South Korea in November 2025 as part of APEC Meeting following South Korea’s selection as host.[22] |
Australia | Canberra | TBC, 2026 | Expected to visit Australia for the 11th Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting - following the 9th being held in Australia[23] and 10th to be in Singapore in 2025. |
Malaysia | TBC | TBC, 2026 | Expected to visit Malaysia in 2026 for the 13th Singapore-Malaysia Annual Leaders’ Retreat - with the 12th taking place in Singapore in 2025. |
Indonesia | TBC | TBC, 2026 | Expected to visit Indonesia in 2026 for the 9th Singapore-Indonesia Annual Leaders’ Retreat - with the 8th taking place in Singapore in 2025. |
Philippines | Manila | TBC, 2026 | Visit to Philippines for the 48th and 49th ASEAN Summits following Philippines takeover as ASEAN Chair.[24] |
Antigua and Barbuda | Saint John’s | TBC, 2026 | Expected to lead Singapore’s delegation to the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.[25] |
United States | TBC | TBC, 2026 | Expected to lead Singapore’s delegation to the 2026 G20 Summit - if invited.[26] |
China | TBC | TBC, 2026 | Expected to lead Singapore’s delegation to the 2026 APEC Summit.[27] |
Vietnam | TBC | TBC, 2027 | Expected to visit Vietnam in 2027 for APEC, following Vietnam’s selection as host.[28][29] |
Cambodia | TBC | TBC | Part of his introductory visits to ASEAN Capitals, though the date is yet to be confirmed. |
Philippines | TBC | TBC | Part of his introductory visits to ASEAN Capitals, though the date is yet to be confirmed. |
Australia | Canberra | TBC | Part of his introductory visits, this time to the Oceania region, although the date has yet to be confirmed. Wong's predecessor Lee Hsien Loong also made an introductory visit to Australia in 2006.[30] |
New Zealand | Wellington | TBC | Part of his introductory visits, this time to the Oceania region, although the date has yet to be confirmed. Wong's predecessor Lee Hsien Loong also made an introductory visit to New Zealand in 2006.[31] |
Multilateral meetings
[edit]Multilateral meetings of the following intergovernmental organizations that Singapore is a member of (or invited to) are scheduled to take place during Wong's term in office.
Group | Year | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | ||||
APEC | 14-16 November Lima |
TBC Gyeongju |
TBC |
TBC | |||
ASEAN | 9 October Vientiane |
TBC |
TBC |
TBC | |||
East Asia Summit | 11 October Vientiane |
TBC |
TBC |
TBC | |||
G20 | November 18–19 Rio de Janeiro |
November 27-28 Johannesburg |
TBC | ||||
CHOGM | 23-26 October Apia |
None | TBC Saint John’s |
None | |||
UNCCC | 11–22 November [a] Baku |
10—21 November[a] Belém | |||||
UNGA | 19 - 28 September[b] New York City |
TBC [b] New York City | |||||
Others | Ukraine peace summit June 15–16[c] Nidwalden | ||||||
██ = Did not attend; ██ = Future event ^a Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu is attending in Prime Minister Wong's place. ^b Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan attended in Prime Minister Wong's place. ^c Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sim Ann attended the summit as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister |
References
[edit]- ^ https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/lawrence-wong-brunei-malaysia-asean-anwar-ibrahim-bilateral-4399186
- ^ https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/PM-Lawrence-Wong-at-the-Official-Lunch-Hosted-by-His-Majesty-The-Sultan-of-Brunei-June-2024
- ^ https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2024/06/20240612-PMV
- ^ https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/PM-Lawrence-Wong-at-the-Official-Dinner-Hosted-by-Lao-PDR-PM-Sonexay-Siphandone
- ^ "PM Wong to visit Indonesia for Prabowo's presidential inauguration". CNA. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/DBWapP1Src5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- ^ https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/PM-Lawrence-Wong-to-visit-Apia-Samoa-Oct-2024
- ^ https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/pm-lawrence-wong-visit-samoa-commonwealth-heads-government-meeting-summit-4696536
- ^ https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2024/11/PMV-to-Jakarta-Pre-Visit
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/DCfNWoOTPdf/?igsh=YnB1aXQ2bnpvODJx
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VeqhKqESgo
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/DCh4zh8OH4k/?igsh=cGcycm02Z3pod213
- ^ https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2024/11/20241118-sg-germany
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/DCh63HFut0c/?img_index=1&igsh=Y3lyeXZ2ZWUyeWh0
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/DCh0-MWu0_U/?igsh=MTZiZmo1c2J2ZXB5aw==
- ^ https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/38551/Declaration_on_Digital_Public_Infrastructure_AI_and_Data_for_Governance__Joint_Communiqu233_by_the_G20_Troika_India_Brazil_and_South_Africa_endorsed_b
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqGEUnqB4m0
- ^ https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2024/06/20240612-PMV
- ^ https://www.straitstimes.com/world/pm-wong-meets-leaders-from-egypt-vietnam-at-g-20
- ^ https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/global/diplomats-wish-singapore-uk-be-closest-tech-partners
- ^ https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2024-09-11-lamola-says-hosting-g20-summit-in-2025-to-cost-sa-nearly-r700m/
- ^ https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/11/113_377601.html
- ^ https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/PM-Lee-Hsien-Loong-to-visit-Australia-March-2024
- ^ https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/asean-summit-myanmar-philippines-chairmanship-3747826
- ^ https://antiguanewsroom.com/antigua-and-barbuda-to-host-the-commonwealth-heads-of-government-meeting-in-2026/
- ^ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/09/fact-sheet-delivering-an-ambitious-agenda-for-the-g20
- ^ https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2024/11/17/xi-says-china-to-host-apec-economic-leaders039-meeting-in-2026
- ^ https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/organisations/apec/asia-pacific-economic-cooperation-apec
- ^ https://theinvestor.vn/vietnam-to-host-its-third-apec-summit-in-2027-d7455.html
- ^ https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/data/pdfdoc/2006061201.htm
- ^ https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/data/pdfdoc/2006061201.htm