SINGAPORE: (Bernama) Singapore will prioritise deeper integration within Asean and wider partnerships beyond the bloc’s traditional dialogue partners during its 2027 chairmanship, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Speaking at a dialogue session during the Milken Institute Asia Summit 2026 on Wednesday (Oct 7), he said progress on these priorities would be key to the success of Singapore’s upcoming chairmanship amid global uncertainties.
"If our economy within Asean continues to grow, continues to be more integrated, if our respective strengths in energy and technology could really be brought together in a complementary way, where the whole is more than the sum of the parts, we would have succeeded,” he said.
The dialogue, moderated by Milken Institute Chief Executive Officer Richard Ditizio, was held as part of the three-day summit themed 'Leading with Intelligence' from Oct 7 to 9, bringing together about 1,500 participants from 50 countries.
Balakrishnan said Singapore would seek to broaden Asean’s partnerships across the bloc and beyond its traditional dialogue partners, including through greater collaboration with the European Union (EU), Africa, South America, Canada and the Pacific Islands.
He emphasised that Asean stood collectively on its own and had proven it could achieve significant growth driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and semiconductor demand.
He cited countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia which recorded encouraging gross domestic product (GDP) growth during the first half of 2026.
"In the midst of a crazy world, in the midst of the breakdown in world order, the breakdown in trade, the disruption in supply chains, we are having significant growth.
"We still have great growth potential in the next 20 years, so we want to be assessed on our own merit," he said, adding that Asean did not need to be seen as an arena for contestation between the superpowers or another arena for proxy wars. - Bernama
