Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to Brussels, Belgium, for the 4th EU – Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum, 21 November 2025

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan attended the 4^th European Union (EU)–Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (IPMF) on 21 November 2025 in Brussels, Belgium.

At the Opening Session, Minister Balakrishnan highlighted the importance of strengthening engagement between the EU and the Indo-Pacific. He welcomed the EU’s dialogue partnership with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which will enable both regions to seize emerging opportunities, especially in digitalisation and the green transition.

Minister Balakrishnan also co-moderated a Roundtable Session with European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva, where participants discussed how both regions can better align policies to enhance shared prosperity, economic security and digital connectivity.

Minister Balakrishnan attended a lunch hosted by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas for Foreign Ministers of the EU and ASEAN Member States. Minister Balakrishnan encouraged an acceleration of ASEAN-EU cooperation to uphold the rules-based multilateral order, facilitate trade and investment, and expand growth opportunities.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Minister Balakrishnan met his counterparts from Spain, Austria, Estonia and Germany. They discussed ways to advance bilateral cooperation, reaffirmed their shared commitment to open and free trade and a rules-based global order, and exchanged views on regional and global developments.

Minister Balakrishnan departs Brussels later today for Johannesburg, South Africa for the G20 Leaders’ Summit from 22 to 23 November 2025. 

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

21 NOVEMBER 2025

Colleagues, yesterday I perhaps made an overly robust proposal – that although the EU and the Pacific nations may be geographically far apart, our strategic alignment means there’s both an opportunity and an urgent need for a deeper engagement between our two regions. The second point I wanted to make was that for all of us, especially small states in the Indo-Pacific, we want to be engaged on our own merits. We do not want our part of the world to be engaged as an arena for proxy wars between big powers, or simply as a natural resource reservoir to be exploited.

Having said that, I would make the point that in our part of the world, trade, investment, and infrastructure are strategy. I’m arguing for a more economic focus as opposed to a security-centred rules of engagement with my part of the world. Yesterday, I mentioned the urgent need and the opportunity for ASEAN and the EU to either do a complete region-to-region free trade agreement, or in any case, to achieve a much closer economic complementary relationship.

Today, I also want to highlight another incipient partnership, and that’s between the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU. I think a full membership may be beyond immediate reach, but surely a strategic partnership between the EU and the Comprehensive and Progress Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is feasible. We can work on harmonisation of standards and interoperability of systems. We can mutually support free trade and a rules-based international order. We are naturally aligned on these, so I’m making a point that there is much that we can do, and in fact, just a couple of days ago, trade ministers of the EU and from the CPTPP economies got together in Australia and are exploring some ideas well worth pursuing in the months and years to come.

The next part I wanted to quickly emphasise was the opportunities in the digital economy and in the green transition. I am very gratified with the very strong vote of support by the European Parliament last week to ratify the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement. Once in force, this will provide greater legal certainty for our companies in both our regions and foster greater connectivity between Singapore and the EU. But the EU knows that Singapore always views ourselves as simply a pathfinder, and whatever you do with Singapore, you should be looking to expand that and more generally engage our region on that basis. We are also grateful to the EU for your support in our green transition, for your support for the ASEAN Power Grid, and we look forward to real projects which will future-proof our economies for the long-term. Thank you. 

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