Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan: Small states are stronger when we work together

SINGAPORE: Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who was in Palau for the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting from Aug 31 to Sept 1, wrote in a social post that one of the recurring themes of the meeting is that small states are stronger when they work together.

“As fellow small island states, Singapore and our Pacific partners share many common interests and challenges,” he wrote.

The yearly summit is meant for leaders from 18 member states to discuss key issues in the region, and Dr Balakrishnan was present to affirm Singapore’s partnership, as well as meet with the leaders of Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and others. Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs were also in attendance.

He also announced developments concerning two capacity-building programs in such areas as leadership and governance, financial management, artificial intelligence for governance, and public service transformation.

Dr Balakrishnan outlined a number of issues that Singapore and Pacific Island nations face, including climate change, sustainable development, and the challenges of navigating a world that has grown more turbulent, and in his most recent post, said that discussions on renewable energy and energy security had also been held.

He underlined a robust belief in international law, effective multilateralism and strong regional institutions, adding that these allow smaller nations to have “a greater voice and agency”.

The Minister noted as well that almost 10,000 individuals from Pacific nations have been welcomed to Singapore for capacity building programmes.

“As ASEAN Chair in 2027, Singapore looks forward to strengthening links between ASEAN and the Pacific, so that our regions can work even more closely together in an increasingly uncertain world,” he added.

An Aug 31 article in The Diplomat pointed out that with five top leaders of Pacific nations not attending the forum, vital regional unity has been put into question. Additionally, some of the member states have a closer alliance to powerful nations such as China than others, which has recently made reaching consensus more challenging than in years past. /TISG

Read also: North Korea included among countries Vivian Balakrishnan is visiting ‘to engage external partners amidst global challenges’