PM Wong meets Australia PM Albanese for the 1st time since both were re-elected on the same day

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong met with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Singapore on May 20, 2025 their first meeting since both were re-elected on the same day, May 3.

Teatime and bilateral relations

PM Wong hosted Albanese for tea, where the pair reaffirmed the excellent state of bilateral relations.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these relations were “underpinned by the multifaceted and pathfinding Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

The two leaders are expected to launch an upgraded CSP later in the year at the 10th Singapore-Australia Leaders’ Meeting, where they will also commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

They exchanged views on key regional and global developments, as well as agreeing on the “importance of upholding an open, inclusive, and rules-based multilateral system.

PM Wong also welcomed Albanese’s commitment to engaging with Asean, particularly through Australia’s “Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040”.

Electoral success

Both men were recently re-elected to their offices by convincing margins on May 3.

Albanese’s win came against expectations, with polling at the start of 2025 indicating that he was likely to lose against the conservative Coalition.

In a stunning turnaround, not only did his government manage to win convincingly, but opposition leader Peter Dutton also lost his seat.

The opposition’s woes continue, with the Coalition announcing on May 20 that it was splitting into its component Liberal and National parties.

Stopover diplomacy

Albanese’s visit comes on the back of his trip to Rome to attend the inaugural mass of the newly elected pontiff, Pope Leo XIV.

While there, he met the new pope, as well as the leader of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and fellow re-elected PM, Canada's Mark Carney.

On his way to Rome, he appears to have made a stopover visit in Jakarta, being hosted to a meal by Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto, and most importantly, meeting Prabowo’s cat Bobby Kertanegara.

Related story

Top image via Anthony Albanese/Facebook