On 8 October 2025, the Prime Ministers of Australia and Singapore agreed to an enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) to guide our bilateral cooperation from 2025 to 2035. Our enhanced CSP will better prepare our economies and societies for challenges and opportunities now and in the future and extends our cooperation further to engage effectively with our regional partners.
The enhanced CSP introduces strengthened and new initiatives to be implemented over the next decade, structured around five common objectives:
- Pillar 1: Contributing to Peace and Stability, at home and in Our Region
- Pillar 2: Connecting Our Economies
- Pillar 3: Transitioning to Net-Zero
- Pillar 4: Forging New Frontiers
- Pillar 5: Deepening Friendships and Capabilities.
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2.0
Pillar 1: Contributing to Peace and Stability, at Home and in our Region
Australia and Singapore share a longstanding and trusted defence partnership, including under the Five Power Defence Arrangements, which contributes to a stable and peaceful region.
Under the enhanced CSP, Defence Ministers signed an MOU on Enhanced Defence Cooperation, reflecting our shared commitment to strengthening our enduring partnership. The MOU will support enhancing our respective militaries' reciprocal access to defence facilities in Australia and Singapore, through:
- Expanded access for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in Singapore in support of its regional presence
- Increased access for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to training areas in Australia, including the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA), Queensland.
We will also further strengthen defence cooperation through:
- Deepened collaboration in defence science and technology
- Expanded professional exchanges and collaboration
- Strengthened defence supply chains and logistics ecosystems.
This new phase of defence cooperation builds on:
- Our 2020 Treaty Concerning Military Training and Training Area Development in Australia, which has expanded unilateral training opportunities for SAF personnel in Australia and underpins Singapore's investment in the development and enhancement of training areas, including SWBTA, under the Australia-Singapore Military Training Initiative
- Our 2017 treaty to support the continuation of the Singapore Air Force training at RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia
- A broad range of activities and exercises, including our signature joint biennial training activity, Exercise TRIDENT
- A suite of MOUs covering key areas of defence cooperation, including personnel exchanges, military intelligence cooperation, and defence science and technology.
Through our Border of the Future Partnership, Australia and Singapore are strengthening collaboration on immigration and border management. This cooperation is underpinned by MOUs between our police forces on combating transnational crime and developing police cooperation, and an MOU on operational science and technology between Singapore's Home Team Science and Technology Agency and the Australian Federal Police.
In June 2025, Australia's Department of Home Affairs and Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs signed an MoU on Cooperation in Security Matters, and held the first Australia-Singapore Security Dialogue in Canberra to build and expand cooperation.
In October 2025, our Foreign Ministers signed an MOU for a Singapore-Australia Third Country Training Programme to jointly extend technical assistance to Southeast Asia countries. This reflects the value we place in working closely with partners in ASEAN to promote a stable, peaceful and prosperous region.
Australia are Singapore are also regularising expert-to-expert exchanges on conflict prevention in the region, to build our collective capacity to maintain the conditions for peace and stability.
Pillar 2: Connecting our Economies
Australia and Singapore share robust and dynamic trade and investment links. As the region's financial, trading and energy hub, and Australia's largest two-way trading partner and investor from Southeast Asia, Singapore is a critical economic gateway for Australian businesses and investors seeking to deepen engagement in the region. Singapore is our sixth largest trading partner overall, with total two-way trade valued at $47.4 billion in 2024. Singapore is Australia's sixth largest source of investment ($145 billion in 2024).
MoU on Economic Resilience
Singapore and Australia have signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Resilience — the first of its kind for both countries.
This landmark agreement reflects our deep strategic trust and shared commitment to addressing shared economic resilience challenges.
Under the MoU, we will collaborate on critical areas that cut across our economies and are vital to our long-term resilience, including:
- Supply chain resilience
- Cyber and digital technologies
- Investment attraction and review.
To drive this cooperation forward, we will establish the Economic Resilience Dialogue — a dedicated platform for regular, senior-level engagement between our governments. The Dialogue will enable both countries to:
- Identify emerging risks and opportunities
- Share best practices and policy approaches
- Coordinate joint initiatives
- Strengthen regional economic resilience.
This builds on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and reinforces our shared vision for a robust, forward-looking and ambitious economic relationship.
Food Pact:
Singapore and Australia have a long and trusted food partnership. This partnership was strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic amid supply chain disruptions. We are partnering closely on food safety and innovation to build resilience in our respective food systems.
The Prime Ministers, at the 2022 Annual Leaders' Meeting, agreed to begin work on a bilateral Food Pact to support enhanced supply chain resilience and greater flows in trade and investments of Australian and Singapore food supply.
The Food Pact is guided by the following workstreams:
- Recognition of systems: Recognition of Australian inspection systems for protein, including for red meat, to support diversified supply of Australian protein to Singapore. This can be expanded to other food commodities as required.
- Simplified Transhipment Model: Australia and Singapore will pilot a transhipment hub using Singapore's logistics network, starting with a Simplified Transhipment Model for red meat, with potential to expand.
- Technical work on animal diseases: To advance zoning (regionalisation) arrangements for various animal diseases to minimise trade disruptions.
- Food innovations and future foods: CSIRO and ASTAR are collaborating through the 5-year ASTAR-CSIRO 2+2 Partnership, with food innovation — including alternative proteins and urban agriculture — as a key focus. This complements regulatory cooperation on novel foods between FSANZ and the Singapore Food Agency.
- Trade missions, industry consultations and promotion: Align business matching with industry needs and include feedback to capture quick wins.
- International cooperation: Building greater collaboration bilaterally and at international forums in promoting agreed principles on sustainable agri-food systems.
Pillar 3: Transition to Net-Zero
Green Economy Agreement
Under CSP 2.0, we have new and refreshed initiatives under the Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement (GEA) that was signed by Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong on 18 October 2022. The GEA is a first-of-its-kind agreement that supports Australia's economic, trade, investment, and climate change objectives.
Highlighted in the updated GEA Annexes the existing and refreshed initiatives seek to deliver tangible outcomes to benefit businesses and consumers. We will also hold a Ministerial Dialogue on Energy, and the GEA will build on our existing areas of cooperation including on, Green and digital shipping corridor, cross-border electricity trade, cross-border movement of carbon dioxide for offshore geological sequestration, batteries and low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia certification schemes.
The GEA will be updated regularly, and new and additional activities might be added over time.
Investing in Southeast Asia's clean energy transition
Under the Australian Government's $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility, Australia approved $75 million in December 2024 and $100 million in September 2025 in equity investment in the Singapore Government's Financing Asia's Transition Partnership (FAST-P) initiative, which aims to support the region's clean energy transition.
Pillar 4: Forging New Frontiers
Both Singapore and Australia recognise the importance of innovation to create modern and dynamic economies. Singapore is a world leader in building a supportive, flexible environment for emerging businesses and Australia has a world-class research system and outward-looking and creative businesses that are ready to collaborate internationally.
Australia collaborates with Singapore in future frontier domains, to develop innovative, future-oriented solutions in emerging areas. Our partnership in the areas of cyber and emerging technology, Artificial Intelligence, science and innovation, education, health and digital economy will further contribute to regional prosperity.
The Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) entered into force on 8 December 2020. It sets new global benchmarks for trade rules, and a range of practical cooperation initiatives, to reduce barriers to digital trade and build an environment in which Australian businesses and consumers are able to participate and benefit from digital trade and the digitalisation of the economy. The DEA upgrades the digital trade arrangements between Australia and Singapore under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement – which are already among some of the most ambitious globally.
In April 2022, Australia and Singapore signed the Australia-Singapore FinTech Bridge Agreement which strengthens cooperation on financial technology and facilitates trade, investment and ecosystem development in the sector.
Australia and Singapore have signed an MOU on collaboration in innovation and science. A new Synchrotron Access Agreement between the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisations and the National University of Singapore was signed by Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic and Singapore's Minister for Industry and Trade Gan Kim Yong, in October 2022. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research also signed a Master Research Collaboration Agreement in 2022. In August 2023, Australia and Singapore signed an MOU to strengthen health cooperation.
Australia has located one of its five start-up 'landing pads' in Singapore to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. This initiative supports Australian companies to take advantage of Singapore's status as an emerging tech hub and gain access to the wider ASEAN market.
Pillar 5: Deepening Friendships and Capabilities
Recognising the unique friendship between the people of Australia and Singapore, we continue to deepen and strengthen ties across education and scholarships, public service, the arts and tourism.
Education
The number of international students from Singapore studying in Australia totaled 6,677 for the January-July 2025 period. Since 2014, more than 4,000 Australian students have undertaken study and internships in Singapore under the New Colombo Plan.
Scholarships
Singapore received five ‘Australia for ASEAN' scholarships in 2023 and eight in 2025. Under CSP 2.0 we established a new and ongoing Australia Awards program for Singapore. Up to four post-graduate scholarships per annum will be awarded for studies in areas of mutual interest. The first intake will be in 2026. Singapore continues to award two post graduate scholarships annually for Australian government officials to attend a one-year master's program in Singapore.
Public service
Australia and Singapore renewed the MoU on Cooperation between the Australian Public Service Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Public Service Division of the Republic of Singapore in September 2025 and is committed to strengthen engagement, including by deepening professional exchanges between Singapore's Civil Service College and the APS Academy.
Arts and Culture
Australia and Singapore are committed to cultural activities that further develop our people-to-people links. We look to expand collaborative activities through the Australia-Singapore Arts Group, including with a stronger focus on Southeast Asia regional engagement.
We signed an MOU on cooperation in the field of Arts and Culture in 2015. The National Museum of Australia recently renewed their MOU with Singapore's National Heritage Board in September 2023. The Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art renewed their MOU with the Singapore Art Museum in 2021, and in 2022 the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra renewed an MOU with Singapore's Symphony Orchestra. Singapore and Australia renewed an MoU on Cooperation in Sport in September 2020 to further our cooperation on sport and sports administration.
Further information on our work with Singapore:
Tourism
Singapore and Australia are complementary tourism markets and enjoy close commercial links. Singapore was Australia's fifth largest inbound tourism market in the 2022-23 financial year.