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Vivian Balakrishnan to visit the UK & US from Jun. 3 to 7
It will be his first visit to the U.S. since inauguration of the second Trump administration.
June 03, 2025, 06:01 PM
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan will make a working visit to London and Washington, D.C., from Jun. 3 to 7 to advance their bilateral cooperation with Singapore.
According to a press statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Vivian will meet UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy in London.
In Washington, D.C., he will meet senior administration officials, Members of Congress and other senior personalities.
While in the U.S., he will also participate in a fireside chat hosted by the Hudson Institute to discuss how the U.S. can deepen engagement with Singapore and the region.
Singapore-UK Strategic Partnership
According to MFA, Vivian’s UK visit will underscore the close relations between the UK and Singapore, which the Singapore-UK Strategic Partnership had strengthened.
“The UK is an important partner for Singapore in promoting and upholding a rules-based multilateral order, free and open trade, and respect for international law,” said the MFA's press statement.
In 2023, Singapore and the UK elevated their ties to a "Strategic Partnership" to catalyse opportunities for both countries to cooperate and strengthen linkages across various sectors.
The Strategic Partnership encompasses five pillars of cooperation, including economic, defence and research.
Vivian had last met with Lammy on Feb. 22.
Referencing the Strategic Partnership, he said in a Facebook post that they had “discussed ways to deepen cooperation in key areas such as trade, investment, sustainability, and security.”
“Look forward to building on this momentum.”
Both the U.S. and the Singapore governments’ new term in office
Vivian’s visit to Washington, D.C., will be the first Ministerial visit from Singapore to the U.S. since both governments began new terms held in May 2025 and November 2024 respectively.
On Mar. 5, Vivian had his first telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In a Facebook post describing the call, Vivian wrote that the two “reaffirmed the strong and longstanding strategic relationship between Singapore and the U.S.,” noting that the U.S. is Singapore's largest foreign investor by far.
He said he also encouraged the U.S. to continue deepening its economic engagement in the Southeast Asian region and to strengthen cooperation with Asean.
The MFA said that Vivian's visit "reaffirms the close bilateral relationship" between Singapore and the U.S. a "long-standing and strategic cooperation" between the two countries.
Top images via Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Vivian Balakrishnan/Facebook
