By Prashanth Parameswaran
The two countries have signed a new pact to boost their relationship in the coming years.
On June 29, the leaders of Australia and Singapore inked a new comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) at a ceremony during Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s first visit to the city-state since taking office in 2013. The pact, signed during the 50th anniversary of the Australia-Singapore relationship, attests to the importance both sides attach to bilateral ties as well as the potential for them to strengthen further in various areas over the next few years.
Australia and Singapore already had a robust relationship even before the signing of the CSP. Australian soldiers gave their lives to defend Singapore during the Second World War, and Australia was the first country to establish relations with independent Singapore following its separation from Malaysia in 1965. But the CSP – which Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong called a “transformational” agreement – elevates the bilateral relationship to a level that makes each a top partner of the other. For Singapore, the agreement is the first of this kind it has had with any other country. For Australia, the pact has been compared to a similar agreement Australia has with only neighboring New Zealand – the most open border arrangement it has with any other nation.
Read the full story at The Diplomat