13 April 2016 - Continuing his first foreign visit around the region, Foreign Affairs Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras travelled to Singapore on April 12-13 to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and counterpart Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

During his meetings with the Singapore side, Secretary Almendras reaffirmed the close and deepening ties between the Philippines and Singapore, especially in trade and investment exchanges, as well as people-to people contacts.

“The Philippines appreciates very much all the support Singapore has shown the Philippines with great confidence and faith in the resilience of the Philippine economy… we also thank Singapore for being a gracious host to a considerable Filipino expatriate community here, who benefit from friendly programs and policies being implemented by your government,” Secretary Almendras told the Singaporean leaders.

The Secretary conveyed the appreciation of the Philippines for the leadership role Singapore is ably performing as present coordinator for ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations.

Secretary Almendras stressed “the Philippines has complete respect for the ASEAN process and fully supports ASEAN centrality in pushing forward our agenda for community building, including enhancing relations with dialogue partners such as China.”

Both sides agreed that in discussing and resolving regional issues, including the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea (SCS/WPS), ASEAN’s solidarity, unity and centrality is fundamental as it is vital.

Both the Singapore PM and FM reiterated that as a non-claimant state, Singapore’s key interests lie in ensuring that the rule of law prevails over any dispute, preserving freedom of navigation and the unimpeded conduct of commerce in the SCS/WPS. END