Russia–Singapore relations

Russia–Singapore relations

Russia
Singapore
Russian embassy in Singapore

Russia–Singapore relations (Russian: Российско-сингапурские отношения) refers to the bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, Russia and Singapore. Russia has an embassy in Singapore. Singapore has an embassy in Moscow. Both countries are full members of APEC. Relations between the 2 countries have been described as "excellent", with Russia and Singapore sharing many common interests and enjoying close collaborations on many levels

History

Russia appointed their first consul to Singapore, A.M. Vyvodtsev, in 1890, when the island was still a part of the British Empire as the Straits Settlements. Nicholas II of Russia visited the following year during his round-the-world voyage.[1] Singapore and the Soviet Union established full diplomatic relations on 1 June 1968.[2]

Bilateral relations

The accumulated positive potential in Russia–Singapore relations has made it possible to further expand and intensify them in the course of the last few years.

In 2009, a Russian-Singapore political dialogue was conducted which gain intensity. Among the attendees were Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the Federation Council, Sergey Mironov, among other Russian delegates, and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, among other Singaporean delegates.[3]

The first state visit by a Russian Head of State to Singapore was in 2009 where Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Singapore on 15–16 November. President Dmitry met with President S. R. Nathan, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his cabinet. The Russian-Singapore Joint Statement on the State Visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Singapore determines the further steps to be taken to further enhance bilateral ties. One of the major results of the State Visit of the Russian Leader to Singapore was the establishment of the High Level Russia-Singapore Inter-governmental Commission. The first and second sessions of the Commission took place in Singapore, September 2010, and in Moscow, September 2011, respectively. Presently, the Commission is co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, Chief of Staff of the Government of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and Minister for Manpower of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam.[3] As Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev most recently met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong again in November 2015 that noted increased trade between the two countries, and expanding economic activities by companies[4]

Interparliamentary and interregional relations have also progressed for the last years. The ASEAN-Russian summit is held annually where leaders of member states meet with the Russian President.

Trade and economy is the locomotive of bilateral cooperation. Besides bilateral trade which has exceeded 3.8 billion US dollars, investment, scientific and technological cooperation has received an additional impulse. An agreement between the Government of Singapore and the Government of Russia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income is applied to income derived on or after 1 January 2010. The Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments was signed on 27 September 2010.[3]

The sixth annual Russia-Singapore Business Forum was held in Singapore in September 2011. The representatives of public and private sectors of Russia, Singapore, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Asia-Pacific Region participated in the forum.

Diplomatic representation

In 1994, the Russian Federation appointed its first Ambassador to Singapore, M. M. Bely, who served from 1994 to 1999. In 1999, S. B. Kiselev became the second Ambassador to Singapore, followed by A. N. Rojkov who served from 2005 to 2011. The current Russian Ambassador to Singapore is Leonid Moiseev, a former diplomat in the Soviet Union Embassy in Japan and China and the former Ambassador to Australia, Nauru, Vanuatu and Fiji.[5]

Singapore's first official representative to the Soviet Union was Chandra Das, who functioned in Moscow as Singapore's Trade Representative. The trade office was located in Hotel Ukraine in Moscow and on 4 May 1971, the Embassy was open near the current Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Singapore's first Ambassador to the Soviet Union was P. S. Raman, who was appointed on 15 July 1971 and presented his credentials to the Soviet Government on 30 July 1971. The current Ambassador is Simon Tensing de Cruz, who took up the position on 14 October 2008.[6]

List of Russian Ambassadors to Singapore

List of Singaporean Ambassadors to the Russian Federation

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Snow 1998, p. 44.
  2. ↑ Hong 2006, p. 65.
  3. 1 2 3 "Relations between Russia and Singapore". Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "TODAY Online - Countries must work together to deal with shared problems: PM Lee". Government of Singapore. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "List of Ambassadors". Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "Bilateral Relations of Singapore and Russia". MFA Singapore. Retrieved 11 February 2012.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russia–Singapore relations.

Diplomatic missions

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