SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Might 6) congratulated Mr Friedrich Merz on his election as German chancellor and thanked outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his efforts to strengthen ties between the 2 international locations.
Mr Merz was elected chancellor by parliament on Tuesday in a second spherical of voting after unexpectedly failing to safe a majority in an preliminary vote.
In a letter to the incoming chancellor, Mr Wong prolonged his “warmest congratulations” to Mr Merz, noting the 2 international locations shared a “deep and abiding friendship, underpinned by mutual belief, and multifaceted cooperation”.
Singapore and Germany have fun 60 years of diplomatic relations this yr. The 2 international locations additionally upgraded their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership final November.
Mr Wong wrote: “This partnership deepens present financial and safety cooperation, whereas offering recent impetus to work collectively in new areas like digitalisation/AI, analysis, startups and innovation, clear vitality and sustainable improvement.”
“Singapore and Germany additionally share a typical dedication to upholding open commerce, worldwide legislation, and a rules-based world order. On this regard, we cooperate intently at multilateral fora,” he added.
The prime minister additionally stated he welcomed Germany’s rising engagement within the Asia Pacific area.
He famous that greater than 2,300 German corporations had a presence in Singapore, with many utilizing the nation as their gateway to ASEAN and the broader area.
“I stay up for persevering with to deepen our hyperlinks, together with by leveraging the EU-Singapore Free Commerce Settlement and the EU-Singapore Digital Commerce Settlement,” Mr Wong stated.
He added that he appeared ahead to working along with Mr Merz to “additional intensify, improve and deepen relations between our two international locations”.
“I additionally want you all the most effective as you tackle the chancellorship and stay up for assembly you quickly,” he wrote.
