Germany and Singapore agree to deepen strategic partnership

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has agreed to deepen Germany's strategic partnership with Singapore as he kicks off his Asia tour.

"We must assert our interests in an international environment shaped by renewed great-power rivalry," Merz said on Tuesday after meeting Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

The two leaders agreed on a roadmap to strengthen cooperation in security and defence, trade and investment, green energy and artificial intelligence in the coming years.

Merz also called for further progress on free trade agreements with countries in the region. "This is a deliberate counterpoint to the restrictions on global trade that we are currently seeing. We want to do things differently," he said, apparently referring to China. Germany and the European Union accuse the world's second-largest economy of unfair trade practices.

Merz's trip aims to broaden Germany's partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region and reduce its dependence on China. From Singapore, he will travel to Japan and then South Korea.

Germany and Singapore have maintained close ties for many years in business, defence and research. Nearly 2,400 German companies operate in Singapore, employing around 45,000 people, according to the German government. Annual bilateral trade is worth $13.2 billion.

Germany is Singapore's largest trading partner in Europe, while Singapore ranks fourth among Germany's trading partners in South-East Asia.