Singapore and US reaffirm strong bilateral economic ties

SINGAPORE/LOS ANGELES — Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran and United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross reaffirmed the robust and long-standing economic ties between Singapore and the US at a bilateral meeting yesterday. The meeting took place at the sidelines of Mr Iswaran’s visit to Los Angeles to attend the Milken Institute Global Conference.

Both men discussed ways to facilitate business opportunities for companies through the US-Singapore collaboration platform agreement signed between Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the US Department of Commerce during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to the US last year. The agreement aims to deepen collaboration between US and Singapore firms in areas such as infrastructure, financial technology, smart city solutions and e-commerce.

“Singapore and the US share strong and mutually beneficial economic relations, and the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement is the cornerstone of our relationship. We look forward to deepening our relations with the US and building on our early successes under the US-Singapore Collaboration Platform MOU,” said Mr Iswaran.

Mr Ross invited Singapore to participate in the 2017 SelectUSA Investment Summit from June 18 to 20, an event dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment in the US.

Last year, Singapore was the US’ largest trading partner in South-east Asia, and its 13th largest merchandise export destination globally. Bilateral goods and services trade totalled US$68 billion (S$95 billion) last year.

Mr Iswaran also met Singaporean and American businessmen based in Los Angeles.