U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Istana on Jul. 31, 2024.

Blinken is visiting Singapore as part of a wider trip to the Asian and Southeast Asian region.

Sharing about the meeting in a Facebook post on Jul. 31, PM Wong noted the "excellent shape" of Singapore's bilateral relationship with the U.S.

PM Wong cited the substantial ties between the U.S. and Singapore in many areas, such as the economy, defence, and security.

He also mentioned the expansion of cooperation to new areas, including critical emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and civilian nuclear energy.

"US (and Secretary Blinken himself) has to deal with many preoccupations around the world. We are glad they remained committed to engaging Southeast Asia. I look forward to strengthening the partnership with the US, both bilaterally and with ASEAN."

Blinken also called on Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana.

Blinken's trip to Singapore

On Jul. 31, Singapore signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement, more commonly known as the "123 Agreement", with the U.S.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan signed the agreement with Blinken in a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This agreement facilitates access to information, technological expertise, and allows Singapore to deepen our engagements with civil nuclear experts in the U.S., Vivian explained.

Singapore joins countries like China, Russia, Japan, and Indonesia, who have previously signed 123 Agreements with the U.S.

However, the signing of the agreement does not indicate that Singapore has made a decision on the deployment of nuclear energy in the country.

Any decision on such a deployment made in the future will need studies on the safety, reliability, affordability, and environmental sustainability of nuclear energy in Singapore's local context.

Singapore will also join the U.S. State Department's Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology Programme.

Top photo via MDDI