08 July 2014 – The Philippines and Singapore convened on July 4 the Second Round of Informal Consultations on the Philippines-Singapore Action Plan (PSAP), following the successful State Visit to the Philippines of Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam from April 2 to 5.

The Philippine delegation, led by Assistant Secretary Minda Calaguian-Cruz of the Department of Foreign Affairs, met with the Singaporean delegation, led by Deputy Secretary Vanu Gopala Menon from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the developments in the overall implementation of the PSAP, including strengthening defense cooperation, which has seen active intelligence and education exchanges between military personnel of the two countries, as well as education cooperation, which has seen hundreds of Filipinos availing themselves of scholarships at Singapore schools, including numerous Philippine civil servants, who have attended programs at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

The two sides also tackled labor cooperation, noting the large number of Filipinos who live and work in Singapore. The Singapore delegation reiterated that its government does not condone negative opinions against Filipinos recently expressed by a small segment of its society, and was taking steps to address the matter, including police investigation. The Philippine delegation took note of this, and expressed appreciation for the support extended by the Singapore Government to the Bayanihan Center, which is attached to the Philippine Embassy in Singapore and provides numerous skills training opportunities for Filipino workers.

Also discussed were potential cooperative activities, such as possible Singapore investments in the Philippines’ infrastructure and energy sectors, and the possible expansion of Philippine companies in Singapore. Both sides agreed to continue existing cooperative activities, including student exchanges, exchanges of cultural artifacts and experts, and the strengthening of cooperative activities in the vocational and technical education sector, among others.

The two delegations also discussed regional developments in the ASEAN and the situation in the South China Sea.

“Singapore has become part of the Philippines’ story,” remarked Assistant Secretary Cruz, acknowledging the noteworthy contributions Singapore has made via trade and investment to the recent Philippine economic growth. Deputy Secretary Menon further added that, “The story of Philippines-Singapore relations is a very good one,” and emphasized the need for increased public awareness of the warm ties and significant cooperation between the two countries.

Singapore was the Philippines’ 4^th largest trade partner in 2013. It was also the Philippines’ 4^th largest export market as of January 2014. It has also become the Philippines’ 7^th largest source of visitors, with a total of 148,215 Singaporean tourists arriving in the Philippines in 2012. In comparison, the Philippines is one of Singapore’s top source of tourist arrivals, with 487,254 Filipino tourists arriving in Singapore between January and September 2012.

The Memorandum of Understanding on the PSAP, which was signed in 1998, provides a consolidated framework for strengthened bilateral cooperation, including provisions on economic cooperation, information technology, capital market development, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, among others. The 1^st Round of Informal Consultations on the PSAP was held in 2004. END