Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman will travel to Singapore from 2 to 5 July at the invitation of Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, to participate in the S R Nathan Fellowship.
Assistant Minister Gorman’s visit will help to build connections with senior leaders of Singapore as a key regional counterpart, part of Australia’s commitment to strengthening engagement in Southeast Asia.
Singapore is a close friend of Australia and a long-term strategic and economic partner. Our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reflects the breadth of our bilateral cooperation across key areas including defence, trade and investment and growing engagement on food and energy security.
In addition to meeting Foreign Minister Balakrishnan, Assistant Minister Gorman will meet with Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, Minister-in-charge of the Public Service, Chan Chun Sing, Minister of Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Transport, S Iswaran and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Indranee Rajah.
This visit comes a month after Prime Minister Albanese’s visit to Singapore, where he met with then Acting Prime Minister Lawrence Wong for annual bilateral discussions and delivered the keynote address to the Shangri-La Dialogue, outlining Australia’s strategic vision for the region.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister Gorman
“I am honoured to have been invited by Minister Balakrishnan to travel to Singapore to take part in the SR Nathan Fellowship.
“During my first official visit to Singapore I look forward to meeting with government counterparts to discuss challenges and opportunities for both of our countries.
“Last month Prime Minister Albanese affirmed our enduring friendship with Singapore and I’m thrilled to build on this.”