Melbourne, March 5 (AseanAll) — Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held the 9th Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting in Melbourne on March 5，2024. The Prime Ministers held a Joint Press Conference after their Meeting.
The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the excellent state of bilateral relations and noted the good progress in bilateral cooperation across all six pillars of the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), namely Economics and Trade, Defence and Foreign Affairs, Science and Innovation, People-to-People, Digital Economy and Green Economy.
The Prime Ministers welcomed the deepening of bilateral cooperation in pathfinding areas such as the digital and green economies. They noted the good progress in implementing the Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement (SAGEA) since it was signed in October 2022, including the announcement of initial recipients of the A$20 million Go-Green Co-Innovation Programme grant which supports Singapore and Australian enterprises in collaborative efforts to innovate products and services in green sectors. The Prime Ministers welcomed the signing of a Green and Digital Shipping Corridor Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate maritime decarbonisation and digitalisation, as well as a set of principles that both sides have jointly developed to guide cross-border electricity trade for the region. The Prime Ministers also welcomed the finalisation of a Collaborative Instrument to further existing cooperation between our border agencies to combat cross-border criminal conduct.
Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the CSP and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025, both Prime Ministers agreed to use the milestone to explore ambitious, forward-looking, and strategic areas of cooperation for the next phase of the CSP. They tasked Ministers and officials to develop a workplan of concrete initiatives by the Annual Leaders’ Meeting in 2025.
The Prime Ministers also exchanged views on key regional and international developments. They agreed on the importance of an open and inclusive rules-based multilateral order, and underscored the importance of ASEAN Centrality. Prime Minister Lee welcomed Prime Minister Albanese’s commitment to deepen Australia’s engagement of Southeast Asia, including through initiatives such as Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, and looked forward to the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Relations.
Following the Annual Leaders’ Meeting, the Prime Ministers issued a Joint Statement on the key outcomes. The full text of the Joint Statement is appended.
