Bilateral agreements were made between Singapore and the Philippines through Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, and Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines.
The collaboration exemplifies the enduring links of friendship between the governments and peoples of both nations, as well as their shared determination to further develop relations between the Philippines and Singapore.
The following bilateral agreements have been signed:
- An arrangement between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Singapore Armed Forces for the Assignment of a Team to the Regional Counter-Terrorism Information Facility in Singapore;
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the Field of Digital Cooperation between the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology and Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information;
- An MoU between the Philippines’ Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Enterprise Singapore for partnership on the development of New Clark City;
- An MOU on renewal of Personal Data Protection Cooperation between the Philippines’ National Privacy Commission and Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission;
- An MOU on renewal of Water Collaboration between the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System of the Philippines and the Singapore Public Utilities Board.
The Department of Migrant Workers of the Philippines and the Ministry of Health of Singapore has also signed the Joint Communiqué on the Recruitment of Filipino Healthcare Workers. The leaders reaffirmed the Philippines and Singapore’s outstanding and long-standing friendship and recalled the warm celebrations and tangible outcomes achieved in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2019.
In addition to trade and investment, counterterrorism, healthcare, and digital collaboration, they praised the expansive and vigorous cooperation between both nations. Despite the difficulties imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak, the leaders underlined with delight the increase in bilateral economic cooperation. In 2021, bilateral commerce amounted to USD16.5 billion, a 17.2 per cent rise over the previous year.
The leaders applauded the Philippines and Singapore’s continuous possibilities to collaborate in growth areas, such as the digital economy, agri-trade, infrastructure development, innovation, urban solutions, sustainability, and consumer business.
The two parties are also trying to achieve progress on the expansion of the bilateral Air Transport Agreement, which would boost connectivity and offer additional opportunities for collaboration and growth. Both parties acknowledged the complementarities of their respective economies and anticipated the establishment of even stronger bilateral and international cooperation through leveraging common trade agreements.
In addition, they addressed regional and international developments, education, security and defence, and the restoration of transport links following the improvement of the worldwide COVID-19 situation. Before the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2024, the leaders committed to continue boosting bilateral cooperation.
Meanwhile, with the recent launch of the SingapoReimagine Marketing Programme (SMP) by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), local businesses in the tourism and lifestyle sectors will receive more marketing support as part of efforts to support tourism and strengthen Singapore’s appeal as a destination for business and leisure.
Under the S$8 million initiative, tourist and lifestyle firms will get up to S$500,000 in support for 70% of their eligible expenses. To encourage cross-sector collaboration, candidates who cooperate with tourist stakeholders from diverse sectors would receive an additional 10% in funding, up to a maximum of S$50,000.
Proposals will be judged against three essential criteria by a team of marketing experts comprised of STB and industry representatives. These are campaign idea creativity and relevance, backed up by good use of analytics and data; the effectiveness of the media mix and the inventive use of distribution channels in delivering campaign messaging and connecting emotionally with target audiences; and overall campaign cohesion and it.
